BY 
FRANCES  JENKINS 


How  to  Teach  Reading 

A  MANUAL  FOR  TEACHERS  USING 
THE  RIVERSIDE  READERS 


BY 

FRANCES  JENKINS 

Formerly  Supervisor  of  Elementary  Grades 
Decatur,  Illinois 


BOSTON    NEW  YORK    CHICAGO 

HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN   COMPANY 

(gfte  liiUcrgibe  prcstf  Cambridge 


CONTENTS 


I.  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  RIVERSIDE  READERS      ...      i 

II.  GENERAL  SUGGESTIONS 7 

Thought  as  a  basis  for  reading  —  How  words  are  recognized 

—  How  to  conduct  a  drill  —  Types  of  drill  —  How  to  plan 
a  reading  lesson  —  How  to  conduct  a  reading  lesson  —  Sup- 
plementary  reading  —  Seat   work   related   to   reading  — 
Training  in  the  use  of  speech  organs  —  Rate  of  reading  — 
Expressive  oral  reading  —  Silent  reading  and  study  lessons 

—  The  lower-grade  pupil  who  does  not  learn  to  read  — The 
upper-grade  pupil  who  cannot  read. 

III.  TEACHING  THE  RIVERSIDE  PRIMER       24 

Plans  for  each  story  group  —  Lists  of  words  and  word 
groups  for  drill. 

IV.  TEACHING  THE  RIVERSIDE  FIRST  READER 65. 

Plans  for  each  story  group  —  Lists  of  words  and  word 
groups  for  drill. 

V.  TEACHING  THE  RIVERSIDE  SECOND  READER      ....    75 

Types  of  lessons  —  Poems,  the  short  story,  the  informa- 
tional lesson,  the  dramatization,  the  long  story  —  Illus- 
trative lesson  plans  —  Lists  of  words  for  drill. 

VI.  TEACHING  THE  RIVERSIDE  THIRD  READER 88 

Types  of  lessens  —  Illiisf.rfit"vf  lesson  plans  —  Lists  of  words 
for  drill. 

VII.  TEACHING  THE,  U£?ER  GRADE  READERS 93 


COPYRIGHT,   1913,   BY  FRANCES  JENKINS 
ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED 


HOW  TO  TEACH  READING 

I.  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  RIVERSIDE 
READERS 

THE  RIVERSIDE  PRIMER 

READING  is  one  of  mankind's  greatest  delights,  as  well  as  a 
main  source  of  information.  The  Riverside  Primer  is  written 
with  the  belief  that  the  very  first  reading  may  give  delight  to 
the  beginner,  besides  furnishing  him  much  information  about 
many  interesting  things  in  his  ever-expanding  world;  that  in 
his  very  first  book  the  child  should  find  the  game  and  the 
rhyme,  the  dolly  and  the  drum,  loving  thoughts  of  home, 
appreciative  glimpses  of  the  nature  and  community  worlds 
surrounding  him. 

The  approach  to  a  reading  lesson  must  focus  the  child  's\ 
attention  upon  the  central  thought,  helping  him  to  find  in  the 
thought  an  expression  of  his  own  needs,  desires,  or  interests. 
Unless  he  becomes  seriously  absorbed  in  the  thought  because  j 
of  this  inherent  interest,  the  lesson  lacks  that  which  is  of  great-y 
est  value,  that  which  makes  it  really  a  reading  lesson.    The 
lessons  in  the  Riverside  Primer  are  so  closely  related  to  child 
life  that  it  is  an  easy  matter  to  make  a  worthy  approach ;  many 
lessons  offer  a  choice  of  approaches ;  so  that  the  teacher  has  an 
opportunity  to  vary  her  work  as  lessons  are  reviewed,  or  from 
year  to  year. 

New  ideas,  or  reorganization  of  familiar  ideas,  form  the  basis 
of  all  informational  reading.  This  primer  takes  advantage  of 
the  intense  curiosity  and  eager  observation  aroused  during  the 


HOW  TO  TEACH   READING 

beginning  school  Work,  when  for  the  first  time  the  child  finds 
a  group  of  his  own  age  ready  to  hear  appreciatively  of  his 
observations.  Simple  facts  of  his  nature  and  community 
worlds,  poetic  interpretations  of  facts  already  familiar,  are 
given,  that  his  reading  material  may  be  worth  while  from  the 
thought  standpoint,  that  he  may  find  in  his  primer  lessons 
another  opportunity  to  share  his  observations,  which  is  always 
a  stimulus  to  further  thought. 

Word  work  is  a  fundamental  part  of  all  reading,  but  the 
Riverside  Primer  is  unique  in  its  treatment  of  the  work  with 
words.  It  provides  for  the  individual  differences  of  children, 
giving  a  fundamental  vocabulary  which  all  must  learn,  a  com- 
plete vocabulary  for  all  of  which  only  the  strongest  pupils  are 
held.  This  distinction  permits  the  slower  pupils  to  have  the 
stimulus  of  stronger  pupils  in  the  group,  while  at  the  same  time 
the  stronger  pupils  have  ample  work  to  keep  them  busy ;  thus 
doing  away  with  the  need  for  making  distinct  groups  of  slow 
pupils.  From  the  first  there  are  certain  words  for  which  the 
slow  pupil  may  be  held,  certain  sentences  which  he  can  read 
with  little  help. 

Context  relation  is  recognized  as  an  important  factor  in  word 
recognition.  The  natural  expressions  and  the  simple  style  of 
this  primer  are  strong  aids  in  getting  words  through  the  con- 
text; the  sentence  says  what  a  child  would  expect  it  to  say. 
This  importance  of  the  context  is  carefully  guarded  also  in  that 
no  meaningless  repetitions  are  used.  Each  lesson  is  a  literary 
unit,  every  review  lesson  has  some  especial  charm.  From  the 
first  the  pupil  is  kept  alive  in  thought;  so  that  the  compelling 
force  of  thought  helps  him  in  his  word  mastery. 

Repetition  is  amply  provided  for,  words  of  the  fundamental 
vocabulary  especially  being  used  over  and  over  again.  Slow 
pupils  are  not  held  for  a  word  until  the  page  is  reached  where 
the  word  is  used  most  frequently. 

2 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  RIVERSIDE  READERS 

Phonic  drill  with  the  simpler  sounds  and  •  phonograms  is 
reached  through  the  fundamental  vocabulary;  recognized  in 
the  work  with  rhymes  (see  pp.  50,  51,  119) ;  made  delightful  by 
the  use  of  imitative  words  which  the  child  so  dearly  loves  to 
repeat  and  in  which  his  hunger  for  sound,  his  delight  in  voice- 
play,  are  met:  tinkle,  buzz,  cluck,  woo-oo,  babble -bubble. 

The  fundamental  vocabulary  contains  the  simpler  words 
related  to  the  child's  own  experience,  father,  mother,  baby,  boy, 
girl,  no,  yes;  the  necessary  but  colorless  common  words,  am, 
and,  by,  when,  you;  comprising  a  list  of  words  adapted  to 
the  early  writing  and  language  work.  These  are  the  words 
used  most  frequently  in  supplementary  readers,  so  that  the 
children  may  begin  to  use  supplementary  work  very  early  in 
the  year. 

Expressive  reading  is  a  natural  outgrowth  of  the  use  of  the 
Riverside  Primer.  The  wealth  of  thought  presented,  the  short, 
childlike  sentences,  the  varied  style,  the  natural  vocabulary, 
all  help  in  getting  good  expression.  Emphasis  upon  expression 
is  given  in  the  frequent  use  of  action  words  and  imitative  words. 
What  child  can  read  monotonously,  "  Come,  Kitty,  Kitty  " 
(p.  13),  or,  "'  Tweet,  tweet! '  said  the  little  bird  "  (p.  45)? 

Varied  activities  as  the  accompaniment  and  outgrowth  of  the 
reading  lessons  have  received  careful  attention  in  planning  the 
Riverside  Primer.  Action  sentences  call  for  movement  in  their 
interpretation ;  dialogue  and  dramatization  appear  frequently. 
There  are  games  which  may  be  played,  rhymes  which  may  be 
sung,  or  with  which  rhythmic  movements  may  be  given.  Many 
of  the  lessons  lead  to  illustration  by  drawing,  coloring,  or  cut- 
ting. Every  activity  utilized  in  this  way  carries  added  interest 
into  the  reading  lesson,  gives  greater  value  to  the  hard  work 
involved  in  mastering  the  difficulties;  the  effort  in  getting  the 
thought  is  thus  made  a  means  to  a  worthy  end.  The  wealth  of 
activity  provided  makes  interesting  review  work  an  easy 

3 


HOW   TO  TEACH   READING 

matter :  the  lesson  read  to-day  as  a  dialogue  may  be  read  next 
week  for  the  sake  of  illustrating ;  the  lesson  read  first  as  a  story 
may  be  read  again  as  a  dramatization. 

The  serial  arrangement  of  lessons  provides  for  using  an  awak- 
ened interest  long  enough  to  get  the  most  from  it.  Repetition 
is  thus  provided  for  naturally  at  the  time  when  interest  is  intense. 
Review  becomes  a  desirable  occupation;  for  it  is  natural  to 
read  all  the  lessons  of  a  series  together  after  each  has  been  read 
separately. 

Method,  although  carefully  provided  for,  is  made  subordinate 
to  literary  quality  and  richness  and  suggestiveness  of  material. 
There  are  many  ways  of  helping  children  to  connect  the 
printed  word  with  the  spoken  word.  The  authors  do  not  believe 
in  confining  teachers  to  any  one  method  in  teaching  children 
to  read.  There  are  many  methods  and  most  of  them  have 
something  good  in  them,  but  when  used  to  the  exclusion  of  all 
others  each  becomes  bad.  These  readers  combine  all  the  good 
methods  of  teaching  reading,  such  as  the  phonic  method  (see 
outlines  on  the  last  pages  of  Primer,  First,  Second,  and  Third 
Readers),  the  method  of  approach  through  nursery  rhymes 
(see  Primer,  pp.  30,  32,  86,  88,  90;  First  Reader,  pp.  8,  12,  etc.), 
the  story  approach  (see  Story  Groups,  Primer,  p.  2;  First 
Reader,  p.  2),  the  approach  through  action  sentences  (see 
Primer,  pp.  57,  93),  the  picture  method  (see  the  beautiful  and 
useful  pictures  throughout  the  series),  the  experience  method 
(see  Primer,  pp.  31,  33,  35,  80).  This  manual  has  been  prepared 
to  help  teachers  in  establishing  their  teaching  of  reading  by 
making  use  of  the  experience  of  other  successful  primary 
teachers. 

THE  RIVERSIDE  FIRST  READER 

The  Riverside  First  Reader  in  its  first  lessons  recognizes  the 
companionship  found  in  books  and  the  pride  of  the  small 

4 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  RIVERSIDE  READERS 

reader.  "  Sometimes  Grandpa  reads  me  a  story.  Sometimes 
I  read  a  story."  The  old  rhymes  form  a  basis  for  dramatiza- 
tion (pp.  9,  13^".)  and  for  charming  dialogue  (pp.  14-20).  The 
companionship  of  the  game  appears  (pp.  42-47),  with  nature 
poems  which  fit  into  the  surroundings  of  the  game.  The  old 
stories  bring  in  the  repetition  element,  such  illustrations  as 
portray  "  The  Little  Red  Hen  "  and  "  The  Gingerbread  Boy  " 
making  them  very  realistic.  A  group  of  stories  about  "  The 
Toilers  "  appeals  to  the  desire  to  discuss  the  mysterious  prob- 
lem, "  What  I  want  to  do  when  I  grow  up."  Rhymes  and 
riddles  are  so  presented  (pp.  86-91)  as  to  give  the  best  type  of 
review,  a  new  view  based  on  the  recall  of  ideas  already  known, 
while  giving  needed  repetition  of  words. 

THE  RIVERSIDE   SECOND  READER 

The  story  long  enough  to  be  worth  while  occupies  the  greater 
part  of  the  Second  Reader.  Such  attractive  stories  as  they  are, 
too!  The  animal  world  furnishes  many,  but  the  weather-cock 
and  the  steam-engine  also  appear,  and  folk-tales  from  other 
lands  are  used.  The  dramatizations  given  are  valuable  in  them- 
selves, and  they  may  well  serve  as  models  for  dramatizations 
which  the  children  will  plan  from  other  stories  read.  Children's 
love  of  humor  will  help  in  the  appreciation  of  the  nonsense 
poems  and  stories  scattered  throughout,  while  the  nature 
poems  are  most  musical.  A  few  informational  lessons  are  given 
for  silent  reading  leading  to  observation.  The  teacher  will 
appreciate  the  list  of  words  requiring  special  drill,  given  at  the 
back  of  the  book. 

THE   RIVERSIDE   THIRD   READER 

Like  the  other  books  of  the  series,  the  Third  Reader  presents 
material  of  intrinsic  interest,  graded  carefully  so  as  to  be  within 
the  ability  of  third-grade  children.  The  long  story  is  still  the 

5 


HOW  TO  TEACH   READING 

main  type  of  selection,  but  occasional  short  stories  of  unusual 
value  are  given.  Ethical  qualities  are  strongly  portrayed  in 
"Peasant  Truth  "  (p.  55),  "A  Lesson  in  Politeness  "  (p.  90), 
and  many  others.  Fanciful  poems  and  nonsense  verses  have 
their  place,  and  there  are  many  dainty  poems  dealing  with 
the  child's  own  activities  and  relationships,  "  Our  Mother  " 
(p-  37)  and  "A  Song  of  Our  Flag  "  (p.  104)  being  among  these. 
The  Table  of  Phonograms  and  Consonant  Sounds  (p.  255)  will 
be  especially  helpful  in  the  formal  work. 


II.  GENERAL  SUGGESTIONS 

THOUGHT  AS  A  BASIS  FOR  READING 

THE  experiences  which  a  child  has  had  are  the  best  basis  for  his 
early  reading.  His  thoughts  are  busy  with  these  experiences, 
he  has  words  to  express  them,  he  is  interested  in  them.  The 
teacher  needs  to  make  the  most  of  these  experiences,  trying  to 
realize  their  importance  to  the  children.  The  prosaic  hen  of  the 
barnyard  is  closely  related  to  "  The  Lost  Chick  "  (Primer, 
p.  68)  and  to  "  The  Little  Red  Hen  "  (First  Reader,  p.  48),  the 
bird  and  the  kitten  attract  to  "  The  Three  Birds  "  and  "  The 
Three  Kittens  "  (Primer,  pp.  3-17)  and  to  "  The  Cat  that 
Waited  "  (First  Reader,  pp.  114-118). 

The  teacher  needs  to  give  watchful  care  to  the  new  ideas/ 
which  the  child  is  getting.  Sometimes  the  emotional  tone 
involved  in  a  new  experience  is  strong  enough  so  that  the 
reading  lessons  may  be  selected  upon  the  basis  of  that  experi- 
ence alone,  regardless  of  apparent  difficulties.  A  military 
parade  will  lead  directly  to  "  Marching  "  (Primer,  p.  78), 
while  the  veriest  beginner  will  enjoy  "  The  Circus  is  Coming  " 
(Primer,  p.  94)  when  that  is  what  the  bill-boards  announce. 
41  All  normal  incentive  in  reading  rests  in  the  promise  that 
the  thing  read  will  have  significance  for  the  reader."  1 

Cattell  has  found  that  words  in  context  are  read  twice  asr 
fast  as  isolated  words. '  Even  the  sound  of  a  letter  depends  to 
some  extent  upon  the  context  in  which  it  occurs.  This  shows 
how  important  it  is  that  the  child  shall  come  to  his  task  of 
reading  with  a  thought  content  which  enables  him  to  master 
the  thought  there  presented,  that  thought  content  itself  deter- 
mining the  ease  with  which  he  can  master  the  words  involved.  * 
1  Laing,  Reading:  A  Manual  for  Teachers,  p.  157. 
7 


HOW   TO  TEACH   READING 

"  New  words  are  best  learned  by  hearing  or  seeing  them  used 
in  a  context  that  suggests  their  meaning  and  not  by  focusing 
the  attention  upon  their  isolated  form  or  sound  or  meaning. 
.  .  .  The  best  way  to  get  a  reading  vocabulary  is  just  the  way 
the  child  gets  his  spoken  vocabulary,  by  having  the  new  words 
keep  coming  in  a  context  environment  that  is  familiar  and 
interesting  and  by  trying  to  use  them  as  they  will  serve  his 
purposes."  1 

HOW  WORDS  ARE  RECOGNIZED 

Prompt  recognition  of  words  is  essential  to  intelligent  read- 
ing. We  do  not  yet  know  the  processes  by  which  a  child  recog- 
nizes a  word.  Valuable  studies,  however,  have  been  made  of 
the  way  in  which  words  are  recognized  by  adults  and  we  may 
learn  something  from  these.  The  word  as  a  whole  makes  an 
appeal  to  the  eye.  The  length  of  the  word  and  the  arrangement 
of  letters  in  it  help  to  give  it  a  general  form  by  which  it  may 
be  recognized.  Letters  which  extend  above  and  below  the  line 
seem  to  aid  in  recognition.  The  upper  half  of  a  word  or  letter 
is  more  important  than  the  lower  half.  The  first  and  last  sylla- 
bles in  a  word  are  also  especially  helpful.  "  The  dominating 
letters  and  syllables  in  words  and  the  dominating  words  in  a 
sentence  give  individual  character  to  the  whole.  The  eye 
seizes  on  that  in  the  given  whole  which  gives  it  a  distinctive 
character."2 

Phonic  analysis  is  most  helpful  with  a  large  number  of  words. 
By  it  alone  a  child  may  get  a  new  word,  or  the  initial  sounds 
may  give  him  a  key  to  a  word  suggested  by  the  context:  e.g., 
he  may  get  the  word  men  by  phonic  analysis  m-e-n ;  or  the 
sounds  m-e-n  may  give  him  the  cue  to  the  word  mended  in  such 
a  sentence  as,  The  toy  was  mended. 

1  Huey,  The  Psychology  and  Pedagogy  of  Reading,  p.  348. 

2  Laing,  Reading:  A  Manual  for  Teachers,  p.  129. 

8 


GENERAL   SUGGESTIONS 

HOW  TO   CONDUCT  A  DRILL 

The  essentials  of  drill  are  (i)  focalization  upon  the  work, 
(2)  repetition  with  attention,  (3)  permitting  no  exceptions. 
Drills  need  to  be  short,  varied,  definite,  rapid.  Two  five- 
minute  drill  periods  a  day  at  first  will  count  for  more  than  one 
longer  drill.  Train  children  to  attend  promptly  as  you  present 
word  after  word,  or  phonogram  after  phonogram.  In  rapid 
work  with  words,  a  half-second  or  less  gives  time  enough  for 
them  to  recognize  a  word  which  they  know,  a  longer  time  is 
needed  if  the  word  has  to  be  sounded.  When  a  child  gives  a 
wrong  answer,  have  the  class  tell  the  right  answer  immediately. 
Get  back  again  and  again  to  the  word  or  sound  which  gives 
trouble.  Certain  words  (see  pp.  181-182  in  Riverside  Second 
Reader)  give  trouble  for  a  long  time  and  require  special 
attention. 

Be  sure  that  children  know  and  make  use  of  all  phonograms 
and  consonant  sounds  developed  in  the  lists.  (See  Primer, 
p.  128;  First  Reader,  p.  128;  Second  Reader,  p.  192;  Third 
Reader,  pp.  254-256.)  Push  toward  independence  by  this 
means. 

Learn  to  give  drills  in  many  ways,  but  always  hold  to  one 
type  of  drill  until  the  class  has  learned  how  to  work  rapidly. 
In  two  minutes  you  should  get  from  fifty  to  one  hundred 
responses  when  working  with  lists  or  groups  of  words  which 
contain  no  special  difficulties.  In  general  drill  on  a  very  few 
new  words  in  a  lesson,  presenting  each  a  number  of  times, 
adding  a  larger  number  of  well-known  words. 


HOW   TO   TEACH   READING 

TYPES   OF  DRILL 

1.  Words  or  phonic  elements  (from  6  to  20)  written  clearly  on 

blackboard,   each  new  word  or  sound  appearing  several 
times ;  class  grouped  near 

Teacher  points ;  pupils  name  or  sound  in  turn ;  at  close  class 

name  or  sound  in  concert. 
Teacher  points;  calls  on  pupils  not  in  turn;  at  close  one  or 

two  children  name  all  words  in  list. 

Teacher  calls  for  word;  child  points;  each  child  has  a  turn. 
Child  points ;  calls  on  one  pupil  for  three  words  in  succession ; 

if  all  are  right,  successful  child  takes  his  turn  pointing  and 

calling. 
Child  sent  out  of  room ;  class  select  a  word ;  pupil  returns  and 

tries  to  guess  word  chosen,  pointing  to  each  word  and 

naming  it ;  when  he  succeeds,  another  child  is  sent  out. 
Child  points;  names  three  words  which  he  knows;  each  child 

has  a  turn. 

2.  Words  or  phonic  elements  listed  in  book 

(See  Primer,  pp.  119, 121-124, 128;  First  Reader,  pp.  121-124, 
128;  Second  Reader,  pp.  181-189,  J92;  Third  Reader,  pp. 
247-252.) 

Every  child  points,  teacher  moves  about  rapidly  to  see  that 

each  finds  words,  helping  those  who  have  difficulty. 
Teacher  names  word  or  phonic  element;  children  find  and 
name. 

In  naming  phonic  element  give  both  element  and  key- 
word, having  children  point  to  both;  e.g.,  ing,  sing. 

This  same  type  of  drill  may  be  given  with  the  words  on 
any  page,  a  review  page  or  a  new  one.  Children  are  helped 
by  knowing  that  words  already  mastered  will  be  useful  in 
new  work. 

10 


GENERAL   SUGGESTIONS 

Child  names  word  or  phonic  element ;  others  find  and  name. 
Children  point  to  words  in  order  as  listed,  naming  in  turn. 
Where  words  are  given  in  pairs,  have  child  give  pair. 
(See  Primer,  p.  119;  Second  Reader,  pp.  181-182.) 

j.  Words  or  phonic  elements  printed  on  cards1 

Teacher  shows  cards  rapidly ;  pupils  name  or  sound  in  turn ; 

at  close  class  name  or  sound  in  concert. 
Teacher  shows  cards ;  calls  on  pupils  not  in  turn ;  at  close 

one  or  two  children  name  all. 
Cards  on  blackboard  ledge ;  teacher  calls  for  word ;  child  finds 

word  card ;  each  child  has  a  turn. 
Cards  on  blackboard  ledge;  words  written  on  board;  child 

selects  and  names  word  card  which  he  knows,  matches  it 

with  same  word  on  blackboard. 
Cards  distributed  among  children ;  teacher  or  child  calls  for 

word ;  child  brings  card  containing  word. 

4.  To  emphasize  dominant  letters  and  syllables 

Teacher  writes  list  of  well-known  words  on  blackboard, 
erases  lower  half  of  each  word.  Pupils  try  to  name  words. 

Teacher  prints  dominant  letters  or  syllables  of  well-known 
words  listed  in  back  of  book,  indicating  omitted  letters; 
children  find  words  in  list,  point  and  name;  e.g.,  k-tt~-s, 

pi-y- 

Teacher  holds  word  cards  so  that  only  upper  half  of  word  is 
shown,  children  name  words. 

5.  To  emphasize  word  groups 

Teacher  arranges  a  word  group  with  cards:  e.g.,  in  the  tree; 
changes  the  final  word,  in  the  song,  in  the  morning; 
changes  the  initial  word,  the  middle  word,  etc. 

1  These  cards  may  be  made  by  the  teacher  or  older  pupils.  Be  sure 
that  the  printing  is  even,  the  letters  large  and  well-spaced.  C.  H.  Cong- 
don,  623  S.  Wabash  Ave.,  Chicago,  111.,  furnishes  satisfactory  word  cards. 

II 


HOW   TO   TEACH    READING 

Teacher  writes  word  groups  on  blackboard;  erases  lower 
half  of  words ;  children  name  word  groups  or  find  them  in 
primer. 

HOW  TO  PLAN  A  READING  LESSON 
i.  Determine  the  thought  values 

Plan  each  series  of  lessons  in  a  general  way;  plan  the  lesson 
for  the  day  in  detail.  Look  ahead  for  new  ideas  which  the 
child  is  to  meet;  occasionally  the  concrete  experience  which 
will  be  most  valuable  in  starting  him  to  think  may  come  before 
the  reading  lesson  is  reached ;  the  sight  of  a  rainbow  is  such  an 
experience.  Look  ahead  also  for  new  words  which  may  be 
taught  incidentally  before  they  are  needed  in  a  lesson ;  yes  and 
no  are  such  words;  they  may  be  written  frequently  in  answer 
to  children's  questions. 

Determine  what  the  approach  to  the  lesson  is  to  be.  Make 
it  short,  beautiful,  and  full  of  meaning.  Plan  to  use  in  this 
conversation  some  words  and  phrases  which  appear  in  the  text, 
especially  those  which  help  focus  the  thought.  Think  over  the 
experiences  the  children  have  had  with  the  topic  under  discus- 
sion. Think  what  use  may  be  made  of  the  picture. 

New  ideas  must  be  made  clear  before  the  reading  of  the  text 
begins,  —  the  twinkling  of  the  stars,  the  singing  of  the  wind, 
the  hive  of  the  bee.  What  are  the  new  ideas  in  the  lesson? 
How  may  each  be  illustrated? 

Plan  such  questions  and  directions  as  will  focus  attention 
upon  each  sentence.  These  should  help  the  pupil  to  establish 
relationships,  to  get  more  from  the  thought  than  he  can  get 
unaided.  In  the  later  work,  the  paragraph  is  the  unit  about 
which  such  questions  and  directions  should  center. 


12 


GENERAL   SUGGESTIONS 

2.  Classify  the  words  in  each  lesson 
Known  words 
of  fundamental  vocabulary. 

Hold  every  child  responsible  for  these.  If  a  child  fails 
on  one,  come  back  to  him  for  it  again  and  again ;  list  it 
for  future  drill. 
of  complete  vocabulary. 

Hold  strong  children  responsible  for  these.  If  such  a 
child  fails  on  one,  come  back  to  him  for  it  at  least  twice 
during  the  lesson. 

Unknown  words 

To  be  reached  through  context:  all  words  representing 
ideas  or  relationships  familiar  to  children.  When  such  a 
word  is  called  for,  ask  a  question  which  will  be  answered 
by  using  the  word.  A  child  may  give  a  synonym  instead 
of  the  word  used  in  the  text ;  substitute  the  required  word 
promptly  without  comment. 

To  be  reached  through  sounds  or  families :  the  initial  or 
final  sound  will  be  sufficient  many  times  to  help  the  chil- 
dren in  getting  a  word.  Hold  children  responsible  for  the 
simple  sounds  and  phonograms  which  have  been  taught, 
making  frequent  use  of  them. 

To  be  told  —  unless  they  can  be  reached  readily  in  one 
of  the  above  ways :  words  of  the  fundamental  vocabulary 
which  have  not  yet  been  used  often  enough  to  drill  upon ; 
words  of  the  complete  vocabulary  which  have  not  yet 
been  used  or  are  used  infrequently. 

To  be  drilled  upon  — 

From  fundamental  vocabulary :  the  word  or  words  of 

this  vocabulary  listed  for  drill  in  the  lesson.   The  word 

drill  should  center  here. 

From  complete  vocabulary:  the  words  used  most  fre- 
13 


HOW   TO   TEACH   READING 

quently  in  the  lesson,  especially  those  which  contain  the 
heart  of  the  thought. 

Words  to  be  used  for  sound  values 

Through  voice  play  (imitative  sounds):  woo-oo,  buzz, 
cluck. 

Recall  how  these  natural  sounds  have  sounded  to  you, 
listen  for  them,  practice  them,  dwell  on  the  sound  values. 
Give  monotones  much  opportunity  to  use  them. 
Through  analysis  of  sounds. 

Phonic  elements  and  phonograms  are  to  be  derived 
from  these  as  listed. 

j.  Arrange  for  resulting  activities 

/  Plan  definitely  for  the  lesson  to  work  over  into  a  game,  a 
song,  a  dramatization,  drawing,  or  painting.  Determine  what 
activity  fits  in  best  with  the  needs  of  the  class ;  this  depends 
in  part  upon  the  nature  of  the  reading  lesson,  in  part  upon  the 
program  for  the  rest  of  the  day.  Sometimes  the  children  may 
choose  what  they  would  like  to  do  with  the  story.  Encourage 
freedom  in  this  resulting  activity;  let  them  dramatize  in  their 
own  way,  plan  their  own  game,  compose  tunes  for  some  of  the 
little  rhymes. 

HOW  TO  CONDUCT  A  READING  LESSON 

i  The  leading  thought  or  sequence  of  thought  in  the  lesson  is 
the  center  upon  which  the  attention  of  the  class  must  be 
concentrated.  Experiences  the  children  have  had  which  will 
help  them  in  apperceiving  or  interpreting  this  thought  should 
be  brought  out  as  the  lesson  progresses. 

The  teacher  needs  to  keep  herself  in  the  background;  the 
children  need  to  be  taught  to  do  the  work.  The  teacher  has 
three  lines  of  work  to  carry  on:  (i)  to  question  the  children  to 
see  if  they  are  getting  the  thought;  (2)  to  get  from  the  class 


GENERAL   SUGGESTIONS 

illustrative  experiences  relating  to  thoughts  which  are  not 
clear ;  (3)  to  aid  with  mechanical  difficulties. 

Even  the  introductory  questions  and  suggestions  may  direct 
the  class  attention  not  only  to  the  thought  of  the  lesson,  but 
to  the  text  itself.  (See  First  Reader,  p.  55.)  Who  is  this  man? 
What  is  he  doing?  Show  where  the  lesson  says  the  farmer.  Show 
where  it  says  the  wheat.  Can  you  find  the  word  group  the 
farmer's  wheat? 

Insist  that  a  child  work  through  a  sentence  before  he  reads  ^ 
it  to  the  class.  Select  carefully  the  sentence  which  the  slow 
child  is  to  read.  Train  a  child  to  attack  a  sentence  with  energy, 
to  work  rapidly,  to  be  proud  of  knowing  the  words,  to  ask 
promptly  for  the  word  he  does  not  know  —  the  word  after  him, 
the  word  before  boy,  the  third  word.  Help  him  to  get  the  un- 
known word  from  its  context  relation  or  from  its  sounds,  if 
possible ;  if  he  cannot  get  it  in  this  way,  call  on  another  child 
for  it;  as  a  last  resort,  tell  the  word.  No  part  of  the  reading 
work  requires  greater  tact  and  judgment  than  this;  it  is  a  diffi- 
cult matter  to  keep  the  lesson  moving  rapidly  and  yet  to  train 
the  pupils  to  independence  in  word  mastery.  Praise  good  work, 
encourage  children  frequently.  When  several  related  sentences 
have  been  read  singly,  have  them  read  as  a  group.  Later  this 
may  be  done  with  related  paragraphs. 

The  standard  for  oral  expression  is  the  worthy  interpretation  * 
of  the  idea.  The  text  lends  itself  to  naturalness  and  variety  of 
expression.  Work  for  clear,  sweet  tones.  Dwell  on  the  sen- 
tences which  have  special  sound  values.  Be  careful  not  to 
demand  exaggerated  expression  in  sentences  which  have  no 
elements  requiring  special  interpretation.  Center  the  expres- 
sion work  upon  sentences  containing  voice  play  or  emotional 
elements:  The  bell  says,  "Tinkle,  tinkle" ;  There  comes  a 
cloud!  O,  one  little  chick  is  lost!  Many  times  the  children  may 
show  by  action  that  they  are  interpreting  the  thought.  Show 

IS 


HOW   TO   TEACH   READING 

how  an  engine  goes  forty  miles  an  hour.  How  is  it  that  the  wind 
rocks  the  nests  ?  Be  certain  that  sentences  which  express  much 
are  read  so  as  to  show  their  meaning.  The  child  must  have  the 
thought  before  he  can  do  this. 

Finish  a  story  or  a  main  section  within  the  recitation  period. 
If  possible  spend  a  moment  or  two  at  the  close  in  reading  an 
especially  good  sentence,  in  discussing  the  events  of  the  story, 
in  comparing  characters  with  one  another.  Never  close  a  lesson 
with  a  few  sentences  remaining  unread,  read  them  yourself  or 
call  upon  a  strong  pupil  to  read  them. 

SUPPLEMENTARY  READING 

To  give  variety  to  the  work  and  to  encourage  children  to  use 
the  ability  gained  in  the  basic  reading,  the  teacher  needs  to  use 
supplementary  reading  material  from  the  first. 

Incidental  reading  makes  use  of  the  words  which  pupils  see 
frequently :  Street  names  and  signs ;  names  of  street-cars  seen 
daily;  names  of  public  buildings,  post-office,  bank,  library, 
church;  names  of  seeds,  of  farming  implements,  the  children's 
own  names  and  those  of  their  parents.  Directions  may  be 
given  by  writing  them  on  the  blackboard :  Run  to  your  seats. 
Take  your  letter  cards.  Make  these  words. 

The  experiences  of  the  children  may  be  made  the  basis  of  a 
lesson  related  to  the  regular  lesson  but  giving  a  different  view- 
point. In  connection  with  the  lesson  on  p.  18  of  the  Primer 
a  Monday  lesson  might  well  grow  out  of  a  simple  talk  as  to 
what  the  mothers  are  doing.  Such  sentences  as  this  will  be 
developed :  — 

This  is  Monday. 
See  mother  wash. 
See  her  wash  the  clothes. 
Splash,  splash,  splash! 
16 


GENERAL   SUGGESTIONS 

Even  in  such  simple  work  there  needs  to  be  a  central  thought, 
no  matter  how  briefly  expressed.  There  must  be  natural  se- 
quence in  the  sentences  and  a  variety  of  expression  to  call 
for  natural  voice  control.  Keep  the  sentences  childlike  in  dic- 
tion. 

Whenever  possible,  have  older  pupils  copy  these  lessons,  then 
bind  them  into  booklet  form  with  the  children's  own  illustra- 
tions. Each  child  then  has  his  own  book  which  he  has  made, 
and  the  lessons  can  be  re-read  many  times. 

Encourage  children  to  bring  picture  books  from  home  to 
read  to  the  class.  Make  use  of  supplementary  school  readers 
from  the  first. 

SEAT  WORK  RELATED  TO  READING 

There  are  two  important  lines  of  seat  work  to  be  carried  on 
from  the  first :  seat  work  which  leads  to  thought  mastery  and 
helps  children  to  develop  a  method  of  study,  and  seat  work 
which  leads  to  word  mastery,  stressing  the  mechanics  of  reading. 
Either  may  be  used  to  emphasize  a  lesson  already  given  or  to 
prepare  for  a  new  lesson.  Give  clear, concise  directions;  supply 
needed  material  promptly ;  train  children  to  work  independ- 
ently; examine  and  commend  results. 

Leading  to  thought  mastery 
Pictures  in  the  story  — 

Draw  on  paper  or  at  blackboard,  cut,  lay  with  sticks  or 

lentils. 
Copy  with  letter  cards  a  sentence  which  gives  a  picture. 

People  in  the  story  — 

Draw,  cut,  lay  with  sticks. 

Copy  names  with  letter  cards,  copy  one  thing  each  said, 
one  thing  each  did. 

17 


HOW   TO   TEACH   READING 

Find  and  lay  with  letter  cards  words  or  word  groups 
which  give  color,  sound,  movement,  time,  place. 

When  children  have  gained  some  independence  in 
reading,  they  can  find  in  the  story  answers  to  questions. 
(See  First  Reader,  p.  34.)  What  does  the  wind  sing  ?  What 
do  the  birds  sing  ?  What  do  the  bees  sing  ? 

In  second  grade  they  may  draw  a  picture  from  the 
story,  the  class  to  guess  and  read  the  sentence  or  para- 
graph illustrated. 

Leading  to  word  mastery 
Associating  idea  with  word 

Material  —  pictures  of  common  objects,  names  of  objects 
on  small  cards. 

Children  place  names  beside  pictures  they  represent. 

Associating  isolated  word  with  word  in  sentence 
Material  —  words  of  lesson  on  small  cards.1 

Children  arrange  words  to  make  sentences  of  lesson. 

Emphasizing  phonic  elements 
Material  —  letter  cards.1 

Children  find  and  copy  with  letter  cards  rhyming  words 
in  lesson;  words  whose  sounds  they  enjoy  giving;  words 
beginning  with  a  certain  sound ;  words  containing  a  cer- 
tain phonogram. 

Emphasizing  dominant  letters  or  syllables 
Material  —  letter  cards. 

Teacher  writes  words  on  board,  erasing  lower  half  of 
each  word ;  children  find  words  in  reading  and  lay  with 

1  Word  and  letter  cards  may  be  prepared  by  the  teacher  or  older 
pupils.  They  may  be  obtained  also  from  The  Public  School  Publishing 
Co.,  Bloomington,  111.,  or  from  C.  M.  Parker,  Taylorville,  I1L 

18 


GENERAL   SUGGESTIONS 

letter  cards.  Teacher  writes  dominant  letters  or  syllables 
of  words,  using  dashes  for  letters  omitted ;  children  find 
words  in  readers  and  lay  with  letter  cards. 

TRAINING  IN  THE  USE  OF   SPEECH   ORGANS 

All  children  need  exercises  to  develop  flexibility  of  jaws,  lips, 
and  tongue;  many  children  need  special  help  with  specific 
sounds.  In  cases  where  speech  defects  are  caused  by  deafness, 
deformities  of  teeth  or  palate,  the  teacher  can  do  little  except 
to  suggest  consultation  with  physician  or  dentist.  Often  chil- 
dren are  permitted  or  encouraged  at  home  to  talk  "  baby  talk," 
the  parents  having  the  wrong  idea  that  in  time  this  will  be  out- 
grown. The  teacher  can  do  much  to  secure  cooperation  in 
these  homes  by  explaining  how  habits  are  formed,  and  that 
such  a  habit  interferes  not  only  with  a  child's  oral  reading  and 
speech,  but  also  with  his  spelling.  The  teacher  can  do  little 
for  difficult  cases  of  stammering  except  to  give  the  child  con- 
fidence in  himself. 

As  a  sound  is  discovered  with  which  children  have  difficulty, 
select  an  imitative  word  through  which  to  teach  the  sound  — 
pit-a-pat,  tick-tock,  woo-oo.  Let  the  play  element  enter  here  as 
much  as  possible.  Be  sure  that  the  child  hears  the  sound 
clearly  and  correctly  and  gives  it  distinctly.  It  may  be  neces- 
sary to  show  him  where  to  place  his  tongue,  how  to  hold  his  lips, 
but  his  main  attention  should  be  centered  on  being  a  big  or  a 
tiny  raindrop,  a  strong  wind,  something  which  helps  him  to  for- 
get himself.  The  work  may  be  with  the  class  or  with  the  indi- 
vidual, but  it  should  center  upon  troublesome  sounds  and 
should  give  the  children  opportunity  for  hearing  and  making 
the  sound  repeatedly.  Wise  commendation  for  sounds  made 
clearly  will  help  materially. 


HOW   TO   TEACH   READING 


RATE   OF   READING 

The  best  readers  are  the  most  rapid  readers.  They  not  only 
get  the  thought  most  clearly,  but  remember  the  best.  "  Dear- 
born found  that  for  a  given  class  of  reading  matter  the  fastest 
reader  read  more  than  three  times  as  fast  as  the  slowest"  This 
means  that  teachers  need  to  give  more  attention  to  training 
for  speed  in  reading.  Each  child  should  work  at  his  maximum, 
but  he  should  not  be  hurried. 

Reading  is  a  process  of  thinking.  Training  in  rapid  reading 
means  training  children  to  read  for  meaning.  Silent  reading  is 
most  important  in  establishing  a  rapid  rate.  Impelled  by  inter- 
est in  the  story,  led  on  by  the  teacher's  question  or  suggestion, 
the  pupil  hastens  to  find  the  conditions  of  the  next  important 
event. 

Drill  with  word  groups  or  phrases  helps  in  training  the  eye  to 
grasp  more  than  one  word  at  a  time,  thus  training  for  speed. 
The  hygienic  type,  length  of  line,  and  careful  division  of  lines 
in  the  Riverside  Primer  and  First  Reader  lead  to  speed  in 
reading  by  diminishing  mechanical  difficulties. 

About  the  time  the  pupil  enters  the  fourth  grade  his  silent 
reading  rate  gains  on  his  oral  reading  rate,  his  eye  hurries  on 
ahead  of  his  voice.  From  this  time  on  more  attention  should  be 
given  to  establishing  a  rapid  rate  of  silent  reading;  less  oral 
reading  should  be  called  for. 

EXPRESSIVE  ORAL  READING 

Train  children  to  get  the  thought,  then  to  give  it  naturally. 
Avoid  exaggerated  expression  except  when  working  with  those 
foreign  children  who  have  monotonous  voices.  Expect  children 
to  express  emotion  every  time  that  they  read  a  sentence  por- 
traying joy,  grief,  anger,  surprise.   Oh,  one  little  chick  is  lost. 
1  Laing,  op.  cit.,  p.  139. 
20 


GENERAL   SUGGESTIONS 

(Primer,  p.  68.)  /  spy  Betty  under  the  tree.  (Primer,  p.  83.) 
Descriptive  passages  should  be  read  in  a  simple,  natural  style. 
Work  with  dialogue  and  dramatization  will  help  in  getting 
satisfactory  expression. 

Children  appreciate  the  power  to  show  rapid  or  slow  move- 
ment, loud  or  soft  sounds  by  varying  the  voice  control.  Com- 
pare the  rate  of  the  Tick-tock!  in  the  rhymes  on  pp.  59  and  61 
of  the  Riverside  Primer.  They  readily  learn  to  express  sus- 
pense in  the  same  way.  "  Will  it  be  a  Christmas  tree?  "  asked 
the  wind.  (Primer,  p.  112.) 

The  silent  reading  of  a  lesson  in  class  or  a  study  lesson  with 
the  teacher  may  many  times  well  precede  the  oral  reading.  We 
are  too  desirous  of  having  all  reading  oral ;  if  we  recognize  the 
oral  reading  as  the  culmination  rather  than  the  beginning  of 
work  with  a  lesson,  we  shall  get  more  expressive  oral  reading. 

SILENT   READING  AND  STUDY  LESSONS 

Many  silent  reading  exercises  are  introduced  from  the  first 
(see  Primer,  pp.  25, 48,  53,  57, 77,  etc.)  for  the  purpose  of  giving 
pupils  practice  in  getting  the  thought  without  calling  the  words. 
This  will  break  pupils  of  the  halting  method  of  calling  words 
without  bringing  out  the  thought  of  the  sentences  read. 

Definite  silent  reading  lessons  later  will  help  the  pupils  to 
establish  good  habits  of  study.  Under  the  guidance  of  the 
teacher  the  pupils  will  attack  a  story  with  the  purpose  of  find- 
ing whether  it  is  interesting,  who  the  characters  are,  what  kind 
of  people  they  are,  whether  they  do  sensible,  funny,  or  foolish 
things,  and  other  problems  which  are  worth  while.  Children 
may  point  to  words  or  sentences  which  give  the  answer  to  the 
question,  may  copy  them,  or  read  them  quietly  to  the  teacher 
as  she  moves  about  the  class. 

In  a  silent  reading  lesson  each  pupil  may  well  work  at  his 
own  rate  of  speed.  In  a  study  lesson  the  class  works  as  a  unit 

21 


HOW   TO   TEACH   READING 

in  discovering  points  of  interest  similar  to  those  named  in  the 
preceding  paragraph.  One  pupil  may  read  the  sentence  which 
he  thinks  answers  the  question,  another  pupil  may  read  a  differ- 
ent sentence  which  he  believes  answers  the  same  question. 
Such  differences,  the  need  for  explaining  new  ideas,  the  dis- 
covery of  relationships  between  parts  of  the  story,  lead  to 
discussion.  The  words  of  the  story  are  bandied  back  and  forth, 
both  their  pronunciation  and  meaning  appearing  in  this  natural 
way.  The  crucial  points  of  a  story,  the  climaxes,  the  key  sen- 
tences are  discovered  during  this  study  lesson.  Better  oral 
reading  as  well  as  good  study  habits  will  be  assured  by  this 
method  of  attack. 

THE  LOWER-GRADE  PUPIL  WHO  DOES  NOT  LEARN  TO  READ 

Most  children  learn  to  read  readily  enough  when  the  teacher 
is  faithful,  though  much  hard  work  on  the  part  of  teacher  and 
class  is  involved.  An  occasional  child  has  special  difficulty, 
however,  and  only  careful  study  will  discover  what  causes  the 
trouble.  Try  various  means  until  one  is  found  which  really 
helps.  Let  him  read  the  simpler  lessons  in  the  primer  many 
times.  Have  him  bring  story  books  from  home.  Drill  upon  the 
earlier  words  in  the  fundamental  vocabulary.  Allow  one  of  the 
other  children  to  help  him.  Some  children  are  lacking  in  self 
confidence  and  may  be  helped  by  telling  them  the  unknown 
word  as  soon  as  possible,  giving  no  opportunity  for  hesitation. 
These  pupils  stand  in  especial  need  of  wise  commendation.  The 
very  immature  pupil  may  need  to  repeat  the  grade  work;  all 
others  should  be  expected  to  complete  it  on  time. 

THE  UPPER-GRADE   PUPIL  WHO  CANNOT  READ 

One  of  the  greatest  problems  which  a  teacher  meets  is  the 
pupil  of  this  type.  He  belongs  in  the  upper  grade  by  reason  of 
age,  social  relationships,  ability  to  think,  but  he  is  handicapped 

22 


GENERAL  SUGGESTIONS 

by  his  inability  to  read.  Discover  first  what  he  can  do  in  read- 
ing. Let  him  make  lists  of  the  words  which  he  knows  from  the 
lesson,  no  matter  how  simple  these  may  be.  Sometimes  he  may 
well  join  the  lower  grade  for  word  drills.  Assign  him  a  very 
short  portion  of  the  lesson  to  prepare  for  class,  giving  him  all 
the  help  on  it  which  he  needs,  perhaps  letting  another  pupil 
help  him.  If  this  portion  can  be  a  bit  of  conversation  or  a  key 
sentence,  so  much  the  better.  Insist  on  this  being  prepared. 
Commend  him  when  he  reads  it.  Give  him  much  opportunity 
to  contribute  in  the  study  lesson,  watch  him  in  the  silent  read- 
ing lesson.  Let  other  pupils  help  him.  Do  not  expect  to  make  a 
good  reader  of  such  a  pupil,  but  be  thankful  for  every  sign  of 
improvement. 


III.  TEACHING  THE  RIVERSIDE  PRIMER 

THE  editors  believe  that  children  learn  to  read  most  readily 
when  their  interest  is  continuously  aroused  by  reading  ma- 
terial which  appeals  to  their  experiences  and  activities.  To 
help  the  beginning  teacher  to  grasp  the  spirit  of  the  text, 
these  suggestive  lesson  plans  are  presented.  They  show  one 
way  in  which  certain  lessons  may  be  attacked ;  as  a  teacher 
gains  experience,  she  will  find  other  modes  of  attack.  Every 
device  which  helps  in  centering  attention  upon  the  thought 
of  the  lesson,  every  method  which  aids  word  mastery,  simpli- 
fies the  children's  problem. 

Children  entering  school  have  an  intense  desire  to  read.  They 

have  an  interest  in  many  things  about  them.  They  know  many 

words  and  many  common  English  idioms.  Four  great  problems 

confront  them :  — 

I.  Learning  the  printed  words  which  are  symbols  of  spoken 

words. 
II.  Getting  control  of  the  nerves  and  muscles  which  govern 

the  smaller  eye  movements. 

III.  Analyzing  words  to  find  elements  with  which  to  discover 
new  words. 

IV.  Learning  to  respond  to  the  thought  presented  by  the 
printed  page. 

All  early  reading  is  a  combination  of  reading  by  the  teacher 
and  by  the  pupil,  for  whenever  a  teacher  tells  a  word  she  is 
really  reading.  The  words  read  may  be  divided  into  three 
classes : — 

(i)  The  words  which  the  teacher  tells  or  suggests,  a  large 
number  at  first,  gradually  growing  less. 
24 


TEACHING   THE   RIVERSIDE   PRIMER 

(2)  The  words  which  the  pupils  attempt  to  name  because  of 
the  context,  but  of  which  they  are  not  sure  —  a  much 
more  valuable  source  of  mastery  than  is  generally  recog- 
nized.   Each  attempt  must  be  confirmed  or  corrected 
immediately,  but  the  pupils  should  be  encouraged  to 
make  these  attempts. 

(3)  The  words  which  the  pupils  know  —  gradually  growing 
in  number.  Pupils  need  much  praise  for  mastering  words. 
Drill  on   the  words  of  the   fundamental  vocabulary 
(Primer,  p.  121),  singly  or  in  word  groups  as  soon  as  they 
have  been  used  in  a  lesson.   These  must  be  mastered. 
Later  use  the  complete  vocabulary.    (Primer,  p.  122.) 

Word  difficulties  during  the  reading  of  a  lesson  need  to  be  met 
promptly.  Train  children  to  help  themselves,  to  ask  for  needed 
help,  to  be  ready  to  help  one  another.  If  a  child  seems  too 
dependent,  ask:  How  have  you  tried  to  get  that  word?  What  is 
the  sentence  about  ?  Does  the  word  look  like  any  word  you  know  ? 
Have  you  sounded  it?  Push  the  lesson  through,  however,  not 
allowing  too  much  delay.  It  would  be  better  to  tell  a  number  of 
words  than  to  let  the  lesson  drag.  Then  these  words  may  be 
drilled  upon  at  another  period  and  the  lesson  re-read  the  next 
day. 

These  lesson  plans  emphasize  many  ways  of  attracting  chil- 
dren's attention  to  significant  or  well-known  words  in  the 
lesson.  This  helps  in  rapid  silent  reading.  The  new  words  are 
not  given  at  the  head  of  each  page  because  it  is  better  for  the 
children  to  get  them  with  the  context  in  sentences.  The  teacher 
can  find  all  the  new  words  on  each  page  grouped  in  the  com- 
plete vocabulary  at  the  end  of  each  book.  Such  word  lists  mar 
the  appearance  of  the  page  and  tend  to  decrease  the  child's 
pleasure  and  interest  in  his  book.  Since  the  Riverside  Readers 
are  books  for  children,  the  teaching  devices  are  not  allowed 
to  be  conspicuous. 

25 


HOW   TO   TEACH   READING 

There  are  three  special  eye  movements  in  which  children 
need  training:  — 

(1)  The  movement  from  left  to  right  in  reading  words  and  in 
reading  lines.  Careful  pointing  from  left  to  right  aids 
here  greatly.   This  movement  is  established  in  a  few 
weeks. 

(2)  The  movement  from  the  right  end  of  one  line  to  the  left 
end  of  the  next  line.  By  using  a  plain  strip  of  paper,  four 
inches  by  one  inch,  the  child  may  cover  the  lines  below 
the  one  which  he  is  reading.  When  he  finishes  reading 
one  line,  the  moving  of  the  marker  exposes  the  next  and 
confusion  is  avoided.  This  movement  is  established  by 
the  end  of  the  first  half  year. 

(3)  The  grasping  of  two  or  more  words  in  a  single  eye  move- 
ment.  This  helps  to  establish  a  rapid  rate  of  reading. 
It  is  helped  by  work  with  phrases  or  word  groups. 

The  analysis  of  words  into  their  elements  is  a  great  help  in 
mastering  new  words,  but  it  should  not  be  depended  upon  too 
much  during  the  first  half  year.  During  the  second  and  third 
years  it  should  become  a  strong  tool.  Phonic  work  should  be 
used  for  its  values  in  voice  training  and  ear  training  as  well 
as  for  word  analysis. 

(i)  Rhyming  Words.  Use  the  rhyming  words  given  in  the 
rhymes  (Primer,  pp.  9, 15, 25,  etc.)  to  call  attention  to  the 
likeness  of  the  sounds.  Repeat  tree,  me;  you,  mew;  fly, 
by,  rock-a-bye,  dwelling  on  the  sounds.  Have  the  children 
repeat  these.  Let  them  give  other  words  which  rhyme. 
Instead  of  telling  a  new  word  in  the  lesson,  say  some- 
times, //  rhymes  with  — :  e.g.,  Primer,  p.  41 .  The  children 
know  nod;  ask,  Who  can  find  a  word  in  the  lesson  which 
rhymes  with  nod?  The  pleasure  in  the  sound  value  inter- 
ests the  children  in  learning  the  words.  (See  Primer,  pp. 

50,  II9-) 

26 


TEACHING  THE   RIVERSIDE   PRIMER 

(2)  Imitative  Words.  Use  the  words  which  imitate  sound  or 
action  —  mew,  twinkle,  moo,  rock-a-bye,  peek-a-boo  — 
to  arouse  interest  in  making  sounds.    Children  enjoy 
repeating  these  sounds  over  and  over.  Babble-bubble  is 
a  word  in  which  they  delight,  it  gives  much  practice  on 
b,  yet  this  sound  is  difficult  to  give  by  itself.  Work  for 
different  ways  of  playing  with  these    sounds  —  loud, 
soft,  near,  far  away,  in  different  tones  of  voice.  This  will 
lead  to  better  voice  control  as  well  as  train  the  ear  to 
sound  values. 

(3)  Phonograms  and  Consonant  Sounds.   These  are  selected 
from  the  words  which  the  children  are  using  frequently 
in  their  reading.    The  essentials  are  for  a  child  to  hear 
the  sound  clearly,  to  repeat  the  sound  distinctly,  to 
associate  the  sound  with  the  written  symbol,  to  use 
the  knowledge  thus  gained  in  attacking  new  words. 
Many  suggestions  for  this  work  are  given  on  p.  127  of 
the  Riverside  Primer  and  in  the  lesson  plans  given  in  this 
manual.  The  teacher  should  study  these  helps  carefully 
and  constantly. 

Work  for  clear  sweet  sounds ;  b  should  be  mellow ;  s  sibilant ; 
m,  n,  p,  and  t  delicate.  Watch  the  placing  of  the  tongue,  the 
use  of  lips  and  teeth ;  many  defects  of  articulation  come  because 
children  do  not  use  these  organs  properly. 

The  children  use  the  Primer  from  the  first  day,  this  plan 
assuming  no  previous  blackboard  work.  The  teacher  should 
use  the  blackboard  constantly  as  a  help,  however.  Use  chil- 
dren's experiences  for  supplementary  lessons;  print  (or  write) 
words  and  word  groups,  have  children  find  these  in  the  text; 
print  the  rhymes  as  the  children  learn  them ;  use  in  other  ways. 


HOW   TO   TEACH    READING 

PLAN  FOR   STORY   GROUP  —  THE  THREE   BIRDS 

General  preparation:  Nature-study  lessons  on  birds  need  to 
precede  or  accompany  this  series  of  lessons.  Be  sure  that 
children  are  really  observing  birds,  not  repeating  what  the 
teacher  says  about  them.  Encourage  a  child  to  tell  definitely 
where  he  saw  the  bird  about  which  he  is  telling,  what  the  bird 
was  doing,  how  it  hopped  or  flew  or  sang.  Let  him  play  that 
he  is  a  bird  and  imitate  its  movements.  This  brings  into  use 
the  directions  hop,  fly,  sing,  and  the  written  form  may  be  intro- 
duced to  give  the  direction  for  the  action. 

Lesson  i. 

The  first  day  with  the  book.  Enjoy  with  the  children  their 
possession  of  a  new  book.  Talk  with  them  about  it.  Examine 
the  cover  design.  Perhaps  some  day  one  of  them  will  sit  under 
a  tree  beside  a  river  and  read  a  fine  book.  Show  the  space  for 
the  child's  name.  Write  some  child's  name  in  his  book.  Later 
do  this  for  the  others.  Find  the  picture  of  Betty  and  Harry 
(p.  3).  What  are  they  looking  at?  What  are  the  kittens  doing? 
Show  the  children  how  to  turn  each  page  carefully.  Enjoy  some 
of  the  other  pictures. 

Lesson  2. 

(P.  4.)  Teacher  says:  Betty  and  Harry  are  up  in  the  apple 
tree.  What  have  they  found?  This  says  Three  Little  Eggs; 
teacher  points  to  title.  Show  me  where  it  says  Three  Little  Eggs. 
What  does  this  say?  Child  points  and  repeats.  What  did  the 
children  find?  How  fine  it  would  be  to  find  three  little  eggs!  Do 
not  attempt  to  discriminate  between  the  words  yet. 

Lesson  j. 

(P.  5.)  In  a  few  words  tell  of  continued  visits  to  the  nest 
until  three  little  birds  appear.  This  says  Three  Little  Birds, 

28 


TEACHING  THE   RIVERSIDE   PRIMER 

teacher  points  to  title.  Show  me  where  it  says  Three  Little  Birds. 
What  does  this  say?  Child  points  and  repeats.  What  did  the 
children  find  in  the  nest  at  first  ?  Show  where  it  says  Three  Little 
Eggs,  same  for  Three  Little  Birds.  Print  (or  write)  the  word 
groups  on  the  blackboard  in  several  places.  Children  point 
and  read. 

Lesson  4. 

(P.  4.)  Enjoy  the  picture.  Find  where  it  says  Three  Little 
Eggs.  Betty  and  Harry  did  n't  wish  to  hurt  the  eggs.  What  do 
you  suppose  they  did  ?  They  counted  the  eggs.  This  tells  us  how 
they  counted  them.  Arrange  the  paper  markers1  so  that  only 
the  first  line  shows.  How  would  they  begin  to  count  ?  The  chil- 
dren will  probably  say  "  one  "  or  "  one  egg."  The  teacher 
accepts  this  and  answers  in  the  words  of  the  book,  This  says 
One  little  egg.  Children  repeat.  What  do  they  say  next?  Chil- 
dren may  say  "  two,"  "  two  eggs,"  or  "  two  little  eggs." 
Teacher  says,  Find  where  it  says  Two  little  eggs.  Children  move 
markers  and  read.  In  the  same  way  work  for  Three  little  eggs. 
Betty  tells  what  she  sees.  What  do  you  suppose  she  says  ?  I  see  — 
the  children  may  guess  from  the  context  how  to  finish  the  sen- 
tence ;  if  not,  the  teacher  tells. 

Show  the  word  little  in  each  line.  Have  children  point  to  it 
and  name  it.  Rely  on  the  idea  of  counting  to  suggest  one,  two, 
three,  and  on  the  idea  of  eggs  to  suggest  egg,  eggs.  Tell  them 
/  see.  In  later  lessons  they  will  make  all  these  discriminations. 

As  children  comment  on  this  lesson,  sentences  like  the  follow- 
ing may  appear,  some  of  which  maybe  used  for  a  supplementary 
blackboard  lesson:  "  I  saw  a  nest.  It  was  in  a  big  tree.  I  saw 
the  mother  bird  fly  to  it." 

Some  strong  pupil  with  the  teacher's  help  may  read  the  whole 
page  now.  This  helps  to  give  the  idea  that  the  page  is  a  unit. 

1  See  page  26. 
29 


HOW   TO   TEACH   READING 

Lesson  5. 

(P.  5.)  Work  with  this  very  much  as  with  Lesson  4.  Expect 
the  children  to  find  Three  Little  Birds  when  you  ask  for  it. 
When  this  lesson  has  been  read,  let  them  find  little  and  birds. 
Accept  bird  for  birds  at  this  stage  of  word  finding,  rely  on  the 
child's  good  sense  to  read  it  in  the  context  correctly.  The 
differences  between  capitals  and  small  letters  make  less 
trouble  than  teachers  imagine;  the  likenesses  are  much  greater 
than  the  differences.  Give  the  children  credit  for  some  common 
sense  in  this  regard. 

Again  let  a  strong  pupil  read  the  whole  page.  Another  pupil 
may  read  page  4. 

Lesson  6. 

(Pp.  6-7.)  Look  at  the  pictures.  Have  children  tell  what  the 
bird  is  doing  in  each  picture.  Do  birds  sing  with  little  girls  as  the 
picture  shows  ?  That  is  a  funny  picture!  Point  to  each  word 
used  as  a  title.  This  says  Hop.  This  says  Fly.  This  says  Sing. 
Have  children  point  to  each  word  as  called  for,  using  only  the 
words  printed  as  titles.  Point  to  each  and  have  children  name 
it.  You  may  do  this,  pointing  to  sing  and  naming  a  child.  In 
the  same  way  associate  the  action  with  hop,  with  fly.  Print 
(or  write)  these  words  on  the  blackboard,  having  the  children 
read  by  performing  the  action. 

At  the  drill  period  give  this  phonic  lesson.  The  first  phono- 
gram to  be  taught  is  e  in  connection  with  this  lesson  (see  Primer, 
p.  128),  the  key  word  being  me.  Repeat  the  word  several 
times,  more  and  more  slowly,  me,  m~e,  m-e.  Let  the  children 
do  this.  This  says  e,  writing  e  on  the  blackboard.  Let  the 
children  repeat  it  several  times.  Can  you  hear  the  sound  ein 
these  words:  s-ee,  thr-eef  tr-ee  ?  Give  a  word  and  we  will  listen 
to  hear  that  sound.  Probably  the  children  will  simply  repeat  the 
words  which  the  teacher  has  sounded.  The  essentials  are  for 

30 


TEACHING  THE   RIVERSIDE   PRIMER 

them  to  hear  the  sound,  to  repeat  the  sound,  to  associate  the 
sound  with  the  written  symbol.  Later  they  will  learn  to  give 
many  words  containing  a  given  phonogram;  these  may  be 
used  as  suggested  on  p.  127  of  the  Riverside  Primer. 

Lesson  7. 

(Pp.  6>  7.)  What  is  the  little  bird  doing  in  this  picture  ?  Show 
me  where  it  says  Hop.  Look  at  the  other  pictures  and  recall  the 
other  title  words  in  the  same  way.  Why  is  Betty  holding  out  the 
worm  ?  Do  you  think  the  little  bird  will  hop  to  Betty  ?  Betty  is 
talking  to  the  bird.  Let  us  read  what  she  says.  Place  the  markers 
so  that  the  first  line  is  exposed.  This  is  the  first  line  which  any 
pupil  may  be  expected  to  read  without  help,  but  do  not  hesitate 
to  give  such  help  as  is  needed.  Let  several  children  read  it. 
Have  them  point  to  Hop;  to  little  bird.  Move  the  markers. 
Let  a  child  tell  the  first  word,  the  second  word,  the  third  word. 
Have  the  line  read.  How  many  times  did  Betty  say  Hop,  little 
bird  ?  Read  it  twice  just  as  Betty  said  it.  Betty  said  something 
else.  Move  the  markers.  Where  did  she  want  the  little  bird  to 
hop?  This  says  Hop  to  me.  Read  it.  Read  all  that  Betty  said. 
Let  one  child  be  Betty,  another  child  be  the  bird.  Betty  calls 
the  bird  to  hop  to  her.  The  bird  hops  to  Betty. 

Lesson  8. 

(Pp.  6,  7.)  Work  with  the  flying  and  singing  of  the  bird  in  the 
same  way  as  with  the  hopping. 

(For  word  drill  see  pp.  10-11  of  this  manual.) 

Lesson  9. 

(P.  8.)  Betty  is  talking  with  the  little  bird.  She  is  asking  him 
what  he  can  do.  What  is  one  thing  she  may  ask  him  if  he  can  do  ? 
The  children  may  answer :  hop,  fly,  or  sing.  Accept  the  first 
answer  and  direct  the  children  to  the  line  which  asks  their 
question.  Here  is  where  it  says,  Can  you ,  little  bird?  Read 


HOW  TO   TEACH   READING 

it.  What  does  the  little  bird  answer  ?  What  else  does  Betty  ask 
him  ?  What  does  he  answer  ?  What  else  does  she  ask  him  ?  What 
is  his  answer  ?  Which  does  she  ask  him  about  first  ?  Show  the 
word  which  tells  you.  (Hop.)  In  the  same  way  call  attention  to 
the  words  which  show  the  other  actions.  Let  one  child  be 
Betty  and  another  be  the  bird,  each  reading  in  turn  with  or 
without  the  books.  Or  the  teacher  may  be  Betty  and  may 
question  several  birds. 

Work  of  this  type  centers  attention  on  the  thought,  yet  calls 
attention  to  individual  words  in  their  context.  It  is  partly 
because  the  context  helps  so  much  in  remembering  the  words 
that  the  words  are  not  listed  singly  in  the  book  on  the  ndividual 
pages.  Work  with  isolated  words  in  drills  should  come  at  a 
separate  period.  (See  Primer,  pp.  121-124  for  vocabularies.) 

Lesson  10. 

(P.  9.)  Enjoy  the  picture.  Question  as  to  what  the  bird  is 
doing.  Connect  the  lesson  with  the  questions  which  Betty  asked 
the  bird  the  day  before.  Have  the  children  find  and  point  to 
Can  you  sing?  on  page  8.  Look  at  the  first  line  on  the  new  page. 
Find  Can  you  sing  ?  What  does  Betty  want  the  little  bird  to  sing  ? 
This  says  a  little  song.  Read  what  Betty  said.  What  did  the 
bird  answer?  The  children  may  say,  "  Yes,  I  can  sing  a  little 
song."  If  so,  the  teacher  may  repeat,  omitting  the  word 
"  little."  At  the  drill  period,  work  with  the  groups  a  song,  a 
little  song. 

The  next  two  lines  the  children  will  read  with  little  help. 
Play  you  are  the  bird  and  sing  to  Betty.  Let  several  children  do 
this.  Betty  sang  to  the  bird.  Here  is  the  name  of  her  song.  The 
children  will  read  the  title  easily.  Then  let  the  teacher  read  or 
sing  Betty's  song.  Have  different  children  read  it  or  sing  it. 
Enjoy  the  rhythm  and  the  repetition  in  it.  At  another  time 
children  may  find  and  point  to  lines  and  word  groups;  little 

32 


TEACHING  THE   RIVERSIDE   PRIMER 

bird,  in  a  tree,  sing  a  song,  a  song,  to  me.  They  may  find  the 

same  groups  in  the  preceding  lines  and  pages. 
(For  word  drill,  see  pp.  10-11  of  this  manual.) 

Lesson  n. 

Re-read  the  entire  story  group,  The  Three  Birds.  Each  page 
may  be  assigned  to  one  or  more  children. 

Print  on  the  blackboard  the  words  already  used  from  the 
fundamental  and  complete  vocabularies  (Primer,  pp.  121-122). 
Let  the  children  find  words  which  they  know.  Make  much  of 
each  word  recognized.  Do  not  expect  them  to  know  all  the 
words.  Find  a  word  on  a  given  page,  then  let  children  see  if  they 
can  find  it  in  the  list.  Some  strong  children  may  know  a  num- 
ber, but  encourage  the  child  who  knows  one;  help  him  if  he 
knows  none. 

Never  use  either  a  or  the  except  as  grouped  with  other 
words. 

PLAN   FOR   STORY   GROUP  —  THREE   LITTLE   KITTENS 

General  preparation :  Encourage  the  children  to  talk  about 
their  pet  kittens,  how  they  play  with  them  and  care  for  them. 
Perhaps  a  kitten  may  visit  the  schoolroom,  children  may  play 
with  it,  feed  it,  call  "  Come,  kitty,  kitty"  listen  to  hear  it  say 
"  Mew!  mew!  mew!  " 

Lesson  i. 

(P.  10.)  Open  your  books  to  p.  4.  What  do  Harry  and  Betty 
see?  Show  where  it  says  Three  Little  Eggs.  Turn  to  p.  10.  What 
is  Betty  playing  with  ?  What  is  the  name  of  this  story  ?  Show 
where  it  says  Three  Little  Kittens.  Let  us  count  the  kittens. 
By  this  time  the  pupils  should  be  in  the  habit  of  moving  their 
markers  from  line  to  line  without  special  direction.  When  the 
first  three  lines  have  been  read  singly,  have  all  three  read 
together.  What  little  girl  do  we  see?  Read  the  line  which  tells. 

33 


HOW   TO  TEACH   READING 

Point  to  Betty's  name.  Find  it  in  the  next  line.  How  does  Betty 
feel  toward  the  little  kittens  ?  This  word  says  loves.  Read  the  last 
line.  Read  both  lines  about  Betty.  Have  one  child  read  p.  4, 
another  p.  5,  another  p.  10. 

Lesson  2. 

(P.  ii.)  What  a  good  time  Betty  and  the  kittens  are  having! 
What  colors  are  the  kittens  ?  Point  to  the  black  kitten,  the  white 
kitten,  the  gray  kitten.  We  shall  read  first  about  the  black  one. 
This  suggestion  should  help  the  children  to  get  the  word  black 
in  the  context.  Use  the  same  plan  to  get  the  words  white  and 
gray  as  the  next  sentences  are  read.  Some  one  may  read  about 
all  tjiree  kittens.  Here  are  two  sentences  about  the  black  kitten. 
Who  can  read  them  both  ?  Here  are  two  about  the  white  kitten. 
Read  them.  Which  kitten  is  told  about  next  ?  Point  to  the  word 
gray.  Find  it  again.  Read  about  the  gray  kitten.  What  do  the 
three  kittens  say?  Does  Betty  love  her  kittens?  Point  to  the 
sentence  which  tells  that  she  loves  the  black  kitten,  the  white  kitten, 
the  gray  kitten.  Show  where  the  kittens  say  "  Betty  loves  me" 

At  the  drill  period  teach  the  phonogram  ay  from  the  words 
grayt  say.  See  suggestions  under  Lesson  6  in  the  preceding  story 
group.  Other  words  coming  soon  in  the  primer  which  are  built 
on  the  phonogram  ay  are  way,  may,  play. 

Review  e  and  the  words  me,  see,  three,  tree. 

Lesson  j. 

(Pp.  10,  ii.)  Let  us  play  this  story.  Who  are  playing  in  the 
picture  ?  Point  to  Betty's  name.  Find  it  again;  again.  How  many 
kittens  are  playing  ?  Show  where  the  story  says  three  little  kittens. 
Find  it  again.  How  does  Betty  feel  toward  the  kittens  ?  Show  the 
word  loves ;  again ;  again.  Let  us  see  if  we  can  find  the  words 
which  we  sounded  yesterday.  The  teacher  sounds  the  words 
slowly  in  the  order  in  which  they  occur  on  the  pages,  the  chil- 
dren pointing:  —  three,  see,  gray,  say,  me.  If  this  part  of  the 

34 


TEACHING  THE   RIVERSIDE   PRIMER 

work  seems  difficult,  drop  it  for  the  time  and  push  on  to  the  rest 
of  the  lesson. 

The  children  select  pupils  to  represent  Betty  and  the  three 
kittens,  who  pose  as  in  the  picture.  The  teacher  assigns  the 
parts  to  be  read,  giving  each  child  a  group  of  sentences  as  they 
appear  on  pp.  10  and  1 1 .  When  a  child  has  his  group  ready,  he 
stands.  The  teacher  helps  those  who  need  help.  When  all 
pupils  are  ready,  the  lesson  is  read,  the  teacher  supplying 
promptly  any  needed  word. 

Lesson  4. 

(P.  12.)  Enjoy  the  picture.  Which  kitten  is  giving  the  most 
trouble  ?  Who  is  watching  Betty  ?  Find  the  name  of  the  story. 
Do  not  anticipate  difficulty  with  the  possessive  form;  both 
words  are  very  familiar  to  the  children,  the  expression  is  a 
natural  one.  Should  the  children  hesitate,  ask  Whose  kittens? 
Tell  the  words  am  and  have  as  the  children  come  to  them; 
expect  the  stronger  pupils  to  know  all  the  other  words. 

Lesson  5. 

(P.  13.)  Betty  is  talking  to  us  about  her  kittens.  She  asks  us 
some  questions.  Let  us  read  and  answer  them.  The  first  word  is 
do.  When  the  question  has  been  read,  call  on  some  child  to 
answer  it.  Continue  until  the  four  questions  have  been  read 
and  answered.  Betty  is  telling  us  which  of  her  kittens  are  good. 
Read  the  next  sentence,  the  next.  What  does  the  gray  kitten  do? 
If  the  children  do  not  know  away,  sound  it  for  them  slowly. 
What  does  Betty  say  when  the  gray  kitten  runs  away  ?  How  do  you 
call  a  kitty  ?  It  is  not  so  important  that  the  children  recognize 
each  word  in  the  next  six  lines  as  it  is  that  they  shall  get  into  the 
spirit  of  calling  the  kitty.  They  know  how  a  child  has  to  coax. 
The  repetition  here  is  very  natural. 

Lesson  6. 

(Pp.  12,  13.)  Let  different  children  play  being  Betty,  each 

35 


HOW  TO  TEACH   READING 

reading  a  group  of  sentences.  The  last  few  minutes  may  be 
spent  in  finding  word  groups  which  the  teacher  calls  for :  /  am, 
/  have,  I  love,  I  say,  Do  you  see.  Keep  this  work  moving  rap- 
idly. Do  not  expect  to  verify  every  child's  work  with  each 
word  group,  but  if  possible,  get  to  each  child  at  least  twice. 

Lesson  7. 

(P.  14.)  What  is  Kitty  Gray  doing?  Find  her  name.  Read  the 
first  two  sentences.  The  first  one  begins  This  is.  What  has  Betty  ? 
Read  the  sentence  where  she  tells  you  that.  What  does  the  bell  say? 
Read,  and  make  the  Tinkle,  tinkle  sound  just  like  a  bell.  Who  is 
the  bell  for?  Read  the  three  sentences  about  the  bell.  Betty  speaks 
to  the  kitty.  What  does  she  say  ?  Read  both  sentences.  What  does 
Betty  do  with  the  bell  when  Kitty  Gray  comes  ?  What  does  the  bell 
say  after  it  is  tied  on  ?  Betty  says  Now  I  can — what  ?  How  glad 
Betty  will  be  to  know  where  Kitty  Gray  is! 

Re-read  in  sentence  groups. 

Lesson  8. 

(P.  15.)  Who  are  talking  in  this  lesson  ?  Show  where  it  says 
Mew!  Mew!  Mew!  Which  kitten  talks  first  ?  Point  to  the  word 
which  says  black.  In  the  same  manner  get  white  and  gray.  Let 
one  child  represent  each  kitten.  The  teacher  may  well  carry  on 
the  dialogue  with  each  kitten,  asking  Whose  kitten  are  you  ? 
Later  other  kittens  are  chosen  and  a  child  may  ask  the  ques- 
tions. 

Lesson  9. 

(Pp.  16,  17.)  This  page  (16)  tells  what  Betty  does  and  she  asks 
if  you  do  the  same  things  ?  This  page  (17)  tells  what  the  birds  and 
the  kittens  can  do,  and  asks  if  you  can  do  them  too.  Find  any 
group  of  sentences  which  you  would  like  to  read. 

These  are  review  pages  and  by  allowing  this  free  choice, 
children  will  select  sentences  which  they  know.  Have  each 

36 


TEACHING  THE   RIVERSIDE   PRIMER 

question  answered,  by  action  when  possible.  Later  the  sentence 
groups  may  be  read  in  sequence. 

Lesson  10. 

Re-read  the  entire  story  group,  Three  Little  Kittens.  See 
suggestions  for  Lesson  1 1  upon  The  Three  Birds.  Drill  on  the 
phonic  words  me,  see,  tree,  say,  gray,  way;  on  the  word  groups 
/  see,  I  am,  I  say,  I  have,  Do  you,  Can  you;  on  the  words  in  the 
fundamental  and  complete  vocabularies  (Primer,  pp.  121-122). 
Drill  period :  ing,  sing.  Other  words :  thing,  bring,  wing,  morn- 
ing, evening. 

PLAN  FOR  STORY  GROUP  —  BETTY*  S  DOLLY 

Lesson  i. 

(Pp.  1 8-2 1.)  Enjoy  the  pictures  as  a  series.  The  ideas  pre- 
sented will  bring  many  expressions  of  the  text  into  the  conver- 
sation: Betty's  dolly,  wash  her  clothes,  iron  her  clothes,  etc. 
The  children  will  read  the  title  and  first  two  sentences  easily. 
Betty  is  showing  us  how  she  does  all  these  things  for  her  dolly. 
See  if  you  can  read  the  name  of  her  song.  If  the  children  have 
trouble  with  This  is,  have  them  turn  to  p.  14  and  look  at  the 
first  sentence,  then  turn  back  to  the  title  of  the  song  and  name 
the  first  two  words.  Sound  way  for  them.  When  the  children 
have  read  the  title  the  teacher  may  read  the  song,  the  children 
watching  the  pictures  or  just  listening.  Get  the  rhythm,  the 
repetition.  Read  the  song  again,  encouraging  the  children  to 
point  to  the  lines  as  they  are  read  and  to  read  with  you. 

Lesson  2. 

(Pp.  1 8-2 1.)  Let  a  strong  child  read  the  title;  another  pupil, 
the  first  two  sentences  and  the  song  title.  Call  for  volunteers 
to  read  or  sing  the  first  stanza,  the  teacher  supplying  needed 
words  without  comment.  Have  children  point  to  definite  lines 
and  read  them :  This  is  the  way,  Wash  her  clothes,  So  early  in 

37 


HOW   TO   TEACH   READING 

the  morning.  Read  the  stanza  with  the  class,  getting  the 
rhythm.  Treat  the  following  stanzas  in  the  same  way.  Play 
that  you  are  Betty  and  show  us  the  way  you  do  one  of  these  things. 
We  will  guess  what  you  are  doing.  Have  the  child  who  guesses 
read  or  sing  the  stanza  which  tells  about  the  action  he  thinks  is 
being  portrayed. 

Lesson  j. 

(Pp.  18-21.)  Have  the  song  read  or  sung  through  stanza  by 
stanza.  Call  for  separate  stanzas  by  writing  the  key  word  on 
the  blackboard:  wash,  scrub,  take,  sweep,  floor,  house.  Let 
children  read  or  sing  favorite  stanzas. 

Drill  period:  ake,  take.  Other  words:  bake,  cake,  make. 
Work  for  clear  sounds.  After  working  from  the  blackboard, 
have  children  find  and  sound  these  words,  using  pp.  20,  21,  23. 
It  is  important  that  the  children  realize  how  frequently  the 
sounds  taught  appear  in  the  words  which  they  use. 

Lesson  4. 

(Pp.  22,  23.)  Enjoy  the  picture.  Why  does  Harry  carry  the 
doll  that  way  ?  Let  the  children  realize  that  this  is  a  conversation 
between  Harry  and  Betty.  This  is  where  Harry  speaks,  point- 
ing to  the  first  line.  If  you  read  what  he  says,  who  are  you  playing 
that  you  are?  This  says  Harry,  but  it  means:  "/  am  playing 
Harry."  We  do  not  read  it  out  loud.  We  just  think:  "I  am  play- 
ing Harry.1'  Find  another  place  where  you  think:  "I  am 
playing  Harry."  Show  where  Betty  speaks,  —  think:  "I  am 
playing  Betty"  Find  another  place  where  you  think:  "  /  am  play- 
ing Betty"  Notice  the  method  of  handling  this  dialogue.  It 
will  be  found  that  children  will  read  this  and  similar  material 
with  far  better  expression  than  stories  in  narrative  form.  The 
children  lose  self  consciousness  by  becoming  for  the  time  being 
the  characters  whom  they  represent.  Much  dialogue  is  thus 
introduced  to  improve  the  oral  reading. 

38 


TEACHING  THE   RIVERSIDE   PRIMER 

The  new  words  in  this  lesson,  what,  it,  them,  may  well  be  told 
to  children  as  they  need  them,  the  song  may  be  read  or  sung 
first  by  the  teacher.  Drill  on  these  words  later. 

Lesson  5. 

(Pp.  22, 23.)  Several  pairs  of  children  may  read  as  a  dialogue, 
taking  the  parts  of  Harry  and  Betty.  Some  teachers  will  find  it 
possible  to  have  several  groups  reading  at  the  same  time,  the 
teacher  passing  from  group  to  group.  Be  certain  that  the  rhythm 
of  the  song  is  well  given. 

Drill  period :  all,  call.  Other  words :  fall,  hall,  tall,  wall,  small 

Lesson  6. 

(Pp.  18-23.)  Assign  the  stanzas  and  parts  on  the  different 
pages,  each  child  to  be  responsible  for  one.  As  soon  as  a  child 
volunteers  for  a  stanza  or  part,  have  him  stand  in  front  of  the 
class  and  get  ready  to  read.  Encourage  the  children  to  act  out  a 
stanza  or  to  sing  as  they  read.  Begin  when  all  are  ready,  and 
have  the  parts  read  without  interruption,  supplying  needed 
words.  When  all  have  finished  the  class  may  comment  on  the 
reading.  Assign  to  another  group  and  repeat. 

Be  certain  that  phonograms  and  words  of  the  fundamental 
vocabulary  are  known.  If  children  are  having  difficulty  with 
these,  use  supplementary  reading  or  re-read  the  earlier  pages  of 
the  primer  until  the  children  master  them.  Be  thorough,  but 
be  sensible.  Never  let  the  reading  degenerate  into  mere  word 
calling,  but  help  the  children  to  gain  independence.  Praise 
them  for  knowing  words. 

* 

PLAN  FOR   STORY  GROUP  —  ROCK-A-BYE 
Lesson  i. 

(Pp.  24,  25.)  What  is  Betty  doing  ?  Why  is  she  singing  to  her 
Dolly  dear  ?  Look  at  the  picture  and  see  who  else  are  going  to 
sleep.  What  is  the  name  of  this  story  ?  If  children  hesitate  over 

39 


HOW  TO  TEACH   READING 

Come,  have  them  turn  to  p.  13  where  Betty  is  calling  the  kitty 
and  find  the  word  there.  If  they  hesitate  over  Dear,  have  them 
turn  to  the  song  at  the  bottom  of  p.  23  and  find  it  there.  Tell 
them  will  when  they  need  it.  Suggest  pretty  by  asking  what 
kind  of  song  Betty  will  sing.  If  a  child  sings  Rock-a-bye,  etc. 
(p.  24),  without  your  telling  her  to  sing,  you  may  be  sure  she  is 
getting  into  the  atmosphere  of  the  page.  Have  the  page  read 
as  a  whole. 

A  child  may  read  or  sing  the  first  half  of  the  stanza  (p.  25) , 
the  teacher  singing  the  second  half.  Have  children  memorize 
the  stanza.  Call  attention  to  the  rhyming  words,  fly,  by,  rock- 
a-bye. 

Let  the  children  read  the  questions  silently  and  answer  them 
orally.  Be  careful  that  they  answer  in  sentences.  Expect  a  boy 
to  answer,  "  No,  I  have  n't  a  dolly,"  just  as  generally  as  you 
expect  a  girl  to  say,  "  Yes,  I  have  a  dolly."  This  and  many 
similar  silent  reading  exercises  are  introduced  for  the  purpose 
of  giving  children  practice  in  getting  the  thought  without  call- 
ing the  words.  This  will  break  pupils  of  the  halting  method  of 
calling  words  without  bringing  out  the  thought  of  the  sentences 
read. 

Lesson  2. 

(Pp.  26,  27.)  Enjoy  the  picture.  Notice  the  mother's  smile, 
the  baby's  closed  eyes,  Betty's  uplifted  finger.  The  children 
should  be  able  to  read  the  name  of  the  picture.  Praise  the 
child  who  thinks  the  last  word  is  baby.  If  the  children  have 
difficulty  with  the  first  sentence  on  p.  27,  have  them  find  the 
fifth  line  in  the  song  (p.  25).  Compare  the  last  three  words  of 
the  line  with  the  first  three  in  the  sentence,  the  first  three  words 
of  the  line  with  the  last  three  in  the  sentence.  Read  the  sen- 
tence. Find  The  birdies  fly  in  the  song  on  p.  27 ;  also  to  their 
nests. 

40 


TEACHING  THE   RIVERSIDE   PRIMER 

Talk  with  the  children  about  the  signs  of  evening.  Accept  the 
ideas  in  the  order  given  by  the  children  and  help  the  children 
to  read  the  sentence  expressing  the  thought,  paying  no  atten- 
tion to  the  order  in  which  the  sentences  appear.  Then  have 
the  sentences  read  in  order. 

After  the  song  is  read  and  sung,  call  attention  to  the  rhym- 
ing words.  Find  a  word  which  rhymes  with  Rock-a-bye,  one 
which  rhymes  with  soon. 

Drill  period :  y,fly,  s,  sing.  Other  words :  my,  by,  sky,  spy,  see, 
say,  song,  so,  soon,  seen,  said,  sky.  Teach  the  y  and  s  with  their 
key-words.  Sound  the  other  words  and  see  if  the  children  can 
tell  them.  In  another  lesson  turn  to  pages  already  read  and 
have  children  find  and  sound  words  ending  in  y  or  beginning 
with  5.  Do  not  look  for  many  words  on  a  page ;  choose  words 
in  titles,  at  the  beginning  or  end  of  lines.  The  following  pages 
may  be  used:  6,  7, 9, 11, 13, 25, 27. 

PLAN   FOR   STORY  GROUP  —  PEEK-A-BOO,   MOON 

General  preparation :  Have  a  conversation  about  the  moon, 
the  stars,  the  clouds  which  the  children  have  seen.  Let  them 
draw  these ;  the  teacher  may  write  the  name  of  each  beside  the 
drawing.  They  may  not  have  seen  a  cloud  pass  across  the  moon 
or  stars.  Tell  them  about  it ;  encourage  them  to  watch  for  it 
and  to  report  when  they  have  seen  it  happen.  Perhaps  they  can 
repeat,  "  Twinkle,  twinkle,  little  star."  The  teacher  may  write 
this  on  the  blackboard. 

Lesson  I. 

(P.  29.)  What  are  Betty  and  Harry  watching  ?  They  think  the 
moon  is  playing  peek-a-boo  with  them.  What  is  the  moon  hiding 
behind  ?  With  a  little  help  the  children  will  read  the  stanza. 
What  words  in  it  rhyme  ?  Point  to  are  and  star.  Have  the  stanza 
read  until  it  is  read  smoothly.  Find  some  of  the  same  words 


HOW  TO  TEACH   READING 

and  word  groups  on  p.  28.  Peek-a-boo,  moon;  behind  a  cloud; 
we  'II  see;  star;  soon;  twinkle. 

Lesson  2. 

(P.  28.)  Who  are  talking  in  this  lesson?  Who  speaks  first? 
What  do  you  think  when  you  see  the  name  Harry  ?  the  name  Betty  ? 
(See  Lesson  4,  Story  Group,  "  Betty's  Dolly.")  What  are  they 
talking  about  ?  Point  to  the  words  moon,  cloud,  star,  twinkle. 
What  game  are  the  children  playing  with  the  moon  ?  The  children 
in  this  row  may  play  that  you  are  Harry,  the  children  in  this  row 
may  be  Betty.  This  gives  every  child  a  part,  and  each  knows 
whose  part  he  is  playing.  Tell  where  and  there  as  they  are 
needed.  Unless  the  children  imagine  that  they  are  watching 
the  moon,  the  star,  and  the  cloud,  they  cannot  imitate  the  joy 
of  Harry  and  Betty. 

PLAN  FOB   STORY  GROUP  —  IN  GARDEN  AND  MEADOW 

General  preparation :.  Many  conversation  lessons  about  gar- 
dens and  meadows,  birds,  trees,  and  flowers,  need  to  be  given 
during  the  time  the  children  are  reading  this  story  group.  The 
country  children  may  be  listening  to  the  sounds  made  out  of 
doors ;  1000,  tweet,  buzz.  The  city  children  need  to  be  getting 
clear  ideas  of  the  meadow,  the  brook,  the  hive  ;  they  too  may 
listen  to  the  sounds. 

Lesson  I. 

(Pp.  30,  31.)  Have  the  pupils  memorize  the  rhymes  on  p.  30. 
In  reading  the  dialogue  on  p.  31,  they  may  be  referred  to  the 
rhyme  to  identify  words  and  word  groups  which  they  do  not 
know;  e.g.,  if  pupils  hesitate  at  the  words  flowers  growing  on 
p.  31,  let  them  read  the  rhyme  already  memorized  on  p.  30 
until  they  come  to  these  words,  which  they  will  inevitably 
recognize  there.  Or,  after  memorizing  the  rhyme,  they  may 

42 


TEACHING  THE   RIVERSIDE   PRIMER 

find  in  the  dialogue  on  p.  31  such  phrases  and  word  groups;  as, 
where  are  you  going,  go  with  you,  if  I  may. 

Drill  lesson:  h,  have;  m,  me.  Other  words:  hop,  house,  hear, 
how,  he,  help,  Harry,  honey,  home,  mew,  my,  morning,  moon, 
may,  mother.  H  is  one  of  the  difficult  sounds  to  give  alone; 
it  is  generally  better  to  give  it  as  part  of  a  word.  (See  drill 
under  Lesson  2,  Story  Group, "  Rock-a-bye.")  Pages  which 
can  be  used  to  advantage  in  identifying  words  which  begin  with 
this  sound  are  pp.  6,  20,  25,  28,  43. 

Lesson  2. 

(Pp.  32,  33.)  The  rhymes  on  p.  32  may  be  used  as  described 
in  the  preceding  lesson. 

Drill  periods:  o,  go;  f,  for;  c,  can.  Other  words;  oh,  so,  four, 
over,  blows,  floor,  home,  slow,  know,  pony,  more,  snow,  door; 
fly,  flour,  five,  fall,  find,  floor,  flowers,  fish,  from,  fed,  foot, 
father;  come, cake,  call,  clock,  clothes, cloud,  cow,  calf,  cuckoo, 
count,  cock,  crumbs,  caught,  clown. 

Teach  the  phonic  elements  and  the  key  words.  Sound  the 
other  words  slowly,  the  children  naming  each  as  you  sound  it. 
Write  the  following  words  and  let  children  get  them  through 
sounding:  oh,  so,  fay,  fall,  cake,  call,  he,  home. 

The  rhymes  on  pp.  30-33  form  a  good  basis  for  review  work 
in  phonics.  The  teacher  may  say  /  see  a  word  which  begins 
with  m.  The  children  find  may  and  name  it.  /  see  a  word  which 
ends  with  ing.  The  children  find  and  name  either  going  or 
growing. 

The  ear  training  which  helps  the  children  to  recognize  the 
separate  sounds,  and  the  identification  of  the  phonic  elements 
in  the  text  are  most  important  at  this  stage.  Slowly  the  chil- 
dren will  gain  power  to  discover  new  words  through  these 
phonic  elements. 


43 


HOW   TO   TEACH   READING 

Lesson  j. 

(P.  34.)  Have  a  group  of  five  play  this.  One  may  be  a  child 
who  does  n't  know  what  to  do,  so  is  asking  other  children  their 
plans,  intending  to  go  with  one  of  them.  She  speaks  wherever 
I  stands  before  the  sentence.  She  may  call  each  child  by  name 
as  she  asks,  Where  are  you  going?  Each  child  she  asks  has  a 
different  plan.  Show  each  one  where  to  find  his  answer.  Read 
the  lesson  through  the  answer  given  by  5.  Now  all  ask  this 
question  together.  The  children  may  call  the  first  child  by  name 
as  they  ask  this  question.  When  she  has  answered  they  may 
go  to  the  places  mentioned  and  play  as  they  have  said.  Other 
children  may  be  the  birds,  the  fish,  the  flowers,  the  kitten,  the 
dolly. 

Drill  period:  k,  kittens.  Other  words:  kind,  brook,  thank, 
tick-took,  think,  bark,  book,  black,  pick,  tick,  quick,  peek-a- 
boo.  Write  the  following  words  and  let  children  get  them 
through  sounding:  key,  king. 

Lesson  4. 

(P.  35.)  This  lesson  lends  itself  to  work  with  word  groups: 
Where  are  you  going,  I  am  going,  to  the  meadow,  in  the  meadow, 
may  I  go,  oh  yes,  do  come. 

Lesson  5. 

(Pp.  36,  37.)  The  children  will  connect  the  daisy  chain  with 
the  paper  chains  they  make  in  school.  The  teacher  and  children 
who  have  access  to  dandelions,  clover  and  pretty  grasses  will  be 
able  to  make  chains  similar  to  the  daisy  chain.  Let  children, 
show  how  Harry  picked  a  daisy,  how  Betty  picked  a  daisy.  If 
the  word  then  troubles  them,  turn  back  to  p.  23  and  find  it. 

The  teacher  may  read  or  sing  the  "first  rhyme  on  p.  37,  the 
children  reading  or  singing  the  other,  first  counting  the  nine 
nodding  daisies.  If  they  have  trouble  in  starting,  have  them 

44 


TEACHING  THE   RIVERSIDE   PRIMER 

turn  back  to  pp.  4  and  5  to  get  the  counting  idea  and  the 
words  One  little,  Two  little,  Three  little.  Tell  the  names  of  the 
other  numbers  if  they  give  trouble.  If  children  have  the  idea 
of  counting,  they  ought  to  get  them,  however. 

Drill  period:  en,  then;  I,  love.  Other  words:  ten,  when,  hen; 
little,  like,  lamb,  look,  lady,  last,  let,  will,  shall,  all,  fall,  call. 
The  sound  of  /  is  very  musical  when  the  tongue  is  carefully 
placed.  Keep  the  tones  sweet  and  bell-like.  By  shortening  the 
sound  en  the  following  words  may  be  used:  kitten,  garden, 
seven.  Write  these  words  for  children  to  discover  through 
sounding:  lay,  lake,  lo,  men,  hen. 

Lesson  6. 

(Pp.  38,  39.)  What  was  the  name  of  the  lesson  on  p.  37  ?  What 
is  the  name  of  this  lesson  (p.  38)?  Of  this  (p.  39)?  Look  at  the 
pictures  and  tell  what  these  pages  are  about  ?  Who  can  do  what 
these  children  are  doing  ?  Assign  a  stanza  to  each  group  to  pre- 
pare. Help  those  who  need  help.  Assign  the  stanzas  on  p.  37 
to  some  of  the  slower  children.  When  all  are  ready,  have  the 
stanzas  read  in  succession  by  six  children,  by  another  group  of 
six. 

These  pages  are  excellent  for  drill  work  in  identifying  phonic 
elements:  ing,  s,  m,  h,f,  I.  (See  Story  Group,  "  In  Garden  and 
Meadow,"  Lesson  2.) 

Lesson  7. 

(P.  40.)  See  the  little  girl  in  the  picture.  What  is  blowing  her 
hair  ?  What  else  is  the  wind  blowing  ?  How  does  the  wind  sing 
when  it  blows  ?  Sing  like  a  gentle  wind  ;  like  a  strong  wind.  What 
else  have  we  read  about  which  sings  ?  If  the  children  do  not  recall 
birds  and  brook  have  at  least  one  child  turn  to  each  of  these 
pages,  7,  24,  26,  33,  and  find  what  sings.  Assign  the  first  group 
of  sentences  for  preparation.  Have  one  child  read  them, 
another  child.  The  other  sentences  on  the  page  should  be  pre- 
45 


HOW  TO   TEACH   READING 

pared  and  read  as  groups.  Have  the  children  imitate  the  rock- 
ing of  the  nest,  the  bowing  of  the  trees,  the  nodding  of  the 
daisies. 

Drill  lesson:  b,  boy.  Other  words:  birds,  by,  bow,  baby, 
brook,  buzz,  bee,  blows,  Betty,  black,  bell,  bake,  blue,  bed. 
This  sound  is  very  difficult  to  give  by  itself;  associate  it  with 
words,  pronouncing  slowly  and  distinctly,  b-oy,  b-irds.  Do  not 
give  it  buh-oy,  buh-irds.  These  words  the  children  will  recog- 
nize as  beginning  with  the  new  sound:  birds,  by,  baby,  bake, 
boy,  brook,  Betty.  Write  them  and  have  the  children  pronounce 
them  slowly.  These  words  they  can  discover  by  sounding: 
bee,  be,  bay,  ball. 

Lesson  8. 

(P.  41 .)  This  is  what  the  little  girl  is  saying  to  the  wind.  Read 
the  poem  to  the  children  until  they  get  the  music  and  rhythm 
in  it.  Do  the  daisies  whisper  to  the  wind  ?  What  else  may  they 
whisper  besides  "  Come  and  play"?  Read  the  line  where  the 
little  girl  asks  what  they  whisper.  Would  you  like  to  know  what 
the  daisies  are  saying  to  the  wind  ?  Read  the  lines  which  ask  the 
wind  to  tell  you.  Say  Please  very  politely.  Find  the  word  which 
rhymes  with  nod,  with  play.  Read  the  poem,  encouraging  the 
children  to  follow  the  lines  and  read  with  you.  Let  them  dram- 
atize it,  some  being  daisies,  another  the  wind  singing,  another 
the  little  girl  talking  to  the  wind.  Eventually  the  poem  should 
be  memorized. 

Drill  lesson:  t,  take.  Other  words:  two,  to,  too,  tree,  tinkle, 
take,  out,  at,  that,  not.  Words  to  be  discovered:  tall,  ten. 

Lesson  o. 

(P.  42.)  Enjoy  the  picture.  What  will  the  bird  want  to  tell 
Betty  about  ?  Find  where  the  bird  tells  about  a  nest,  three  eggs. 
What  do  you  suppose  Betty  said  to  the  pretty  bird  when  they  met  ? 
What  do  you  say  when  you  meet  any  one  ?  The  children  may  say 

46 


TEACHING  THE   RIVERSIDE   PRIMER 

"  good-morning,"  "  good  afternoon,"  or  give  some  other  form 
of  salutation.  Accept  these,  then  say,  Betty  began  by  saying 
how  ;  this  should  give  them  the  cue.  How  do  you  answer  when 
some  one  says  How  do  you  do,  Jack  ?  See  how  the  pretty  bird 
answered  Betty.  If  the  children  say  "  pretty  "  well,  substitute 
very  without  comment.  Think  how  hard  this  bird  has  been 
working.  I  believe  you  can  think  what  he  tells  Betty.  If  very 
troubles  the  children,  have  them  find  it  in  the  preceding  sen- 
tence. Try  to  have  them  get  busy  by  thinking  of  the  work  the 
bird  has  to  do,  then  if  necessary  sound  it  slowly  for  them. 
Work  to  get  bird-like  sounds  from  Tweet,  tweet.  How  much 
did  Betty  say  to  the  bird  ?  How  much  did  the  bird  say  to  Betty  ? 
If  the  teacher  wishes  she  may  call  attention  to  the  quotation 
marks.  This  should  be  done  sometime  while  reading  pp.  42-45. 
Dramatize  the  scene. 

Drill  period :  ill,  will.  The  children  can  discover  these  words 
through  sounding:  sill,  mill,  hill,  fill,  kill,  bill,  till.  Let  them 
sound  other  families  of  rhyming  words :  e,  me,  see,  bee  ;  ay,  say, 
may,  hay,  lay,  bay;  ake,  take,  sake,  make,  cake,  lake,  bake. 
Always  use  the  phonic  element  and  keyword  first  when  giving 
lists  of  rhyming  words. 

Lesson  10. 

(P.  43.)  Many  children  will  need  help  in  understanding  about 
the  hive  and  the  honey.  All  will  enjoy  buzzing  like  the  honey 
bee.  Keep  the  tones  clear,  light,  and  musical. 

Lesson  n. 

(Pp.  44,  45.)  Here  again  there  is  need  of  care  to  be  sure  that 
children  interpret.  Babble,  bubble  brings  out  the  sound  of  b 
very  clearly.  On  these  pages  children  may  find  a  number  of 
words  beginning  with  the  same  sound.  Let  the  children  find  the 
rhyming  words  on  p.  45,  bee,  sea,  bee,  sea,  then  the  imitative 
words,  Tweet,  tweet,  Buzz,  buzz,  Babble,  bubble.  Notice  the 

47 


HOW   TO   TEACH   READING 

repetition  of  busy.  They  will  then  be  ready  to  read  the  two 
stanzas. 

Lesson  12. 

(P.  46.)  Have  the  children  read  the  song,  Little  Bird  (p.  9), 
and  the  songs  to  the  brook  (p.  33).  After  the  first  stanza  on 
p.  46  is  read,  a  glance  at  the  picture  will  suggest  what  the  little 
bird  might  sing  about.  What  does  the  rain  say  ?  Let  the  chil- 
dren tap  their  desks  or  the  windows  to  imitate  the  sound.  Show 
them  the  rhyming  words,  rain,  pane.  What  happens  when  the 
rain  is  done  ?  Show  the  rhyming  words  sun,  done. 

Drill  period:  wh,  where.  Other  words:  what,  white,  who, 
whisper.  Children  discover  when,  why  by  sounding. 

Lesson  13. 

(P.  47.)  Enjoy  the  picture.  Be  sure  that  the  children  find  the 
birds  and  the  elf  safe  under  their  umbrellas.  This  is  a  good  page 
on  which  to  work  for  word  groups :  on  the  meadow,  on  the  trees, 
on  the  flowers,  on  the  window-pane,  to  see  the  rain,  to  see  the 
sun. 

Drill  period:  Let  the  children  find  in  their  primers  words 
ending  in  ing:  pp.  19,  27,  29,  30,  32,  33,  37,  43,  44,  45,  46,  47. 
Assign  a  page  to  each  child.  As  a  word  is  found  and  named, 
write  it  on  the  blackboard.  Let  each  child  see  if  he  can  find 
three  in  the  list  which  he  knows. 

Lesson  14. 

(Pp.  48,  49.)  Talk  with  the  children  about  the  rainbow.  If 
possible  a  glass  prism  may  be  hung  in  a  sunny  window  so  that 
they  may  see  the  beautiful  colors.  Imitate  the  raindrops,  say 
Pit-a-pat.  Read  the  poem  to  the  children.  Read  it  again  and 
let  them  answer  each  question.  Read  it  responsively,  letting 
them  read  the  short  lines.  Find  the  rhyming  words.  Have  the 
questions  on  p.  48  read  silently  and  answered  orally.  Refer  a 

48 


TEACHING  THE   RIVERSIDE  PRIMER 

^hild  to  the  poem  for  words  or  word  groups  which  he  does  not 
know.   (See  Story  Group,  "  Rock-a-bye,"  Lesson  I.) 

Drill  period:  un,  sun;  d,  did.  Other  words:  run,  gun;  do, 
dotty t  daisy,  down.  Children  may  build  day,  den,  fun,  bun. 

Lesson  15. 

(Pp.  50,  51.)  These  and  the  two  following  pages  are  review 
pages.  The  thoughts  are  familiar  to  the  children,  but  the 
presentation  is  new.  Treat  these  two  pages  as  puzzles.  Dwell 
on  the  rhyming  words. 

Drill  period  (p.  119):  See  how  many  of  these  rhymes  the 
children  can  give.  With  some  rhymes  the  teacher  may  name 
the  first  word,  the  children  giving  the  word  which  rhymes. 

Lesson  16. 

(P.  52.)  Assign  parts  to  the  children,  one  to  be  the  kitten, 
one  the  bell,  etc.  Let  each  read  what  he  is  supposed  to  say. 
Work  for  good  imitation  in  the  sounds.  When  the  page  has 
been  read  in  this  way  by  at  least  two  groups  of  children,  have 
one  or  two  children  read  the  entire  page. 

Lesson  17. 

(P«  53-)  This  is  a  fine  test  of  the  children's  memory  of  their 
reading.  If  a  child  asks  for  one  of  the  nouns  in  the  first  group 
of  sentences  or  one  of  the  imitative  words  in  the  second  group, 
have  him  find  the  same  noun,  or  imitative  word  on  p.  52.  Tell 
other  words  which  give  trouble.  All  these  questions  are  to  be 
read  silently  and  answered  orally.  With  a  strong  class  each 
child  may  read  ahead  at  his  own  rate  of  speed,  answering  several 
questions  as  the  teacher  comes  to  him,  no  attempt  being  made 
to  have  the  children  listen  to  one  another.  Or  several  children 
may  work  in  a  group,  each  one  taking  his  turn,  the  teacher 
moving  from  group  to  group. 


49 


HOW   TO  TEACH   READING 

Lesson  18. 

(P.  54.)  The  city  children  may  know  very  little  about  the 
cow  and  the  calf,  but  they  will  be  interested  to  learn.  When 
the  page  has  been  read,  see  if  the  children  can  find  a  good  place 
to  divide  it,  so  that  one  may  read  all  about  the  cow  and  the 
meadow,  one  about  the  cow  and  the  calf.  In  sounding  Moo-oo 
have  the  oo  prolonged. 

Lesson  19. 

(P.  55.)  Treat  as  lesson  18  was  treated.  Let  the  children 
dramatize  both  pages. 

Lesson  20. 

(P.  56.)  We  have  learned  many  things  about  the  meadow.  This 
poem  is  about  Over  in  the  meadow.  Let  us  see  how  many  stanzas 
are  about  Over  in  the  meadow.  The  children  should  find,  point 
to,  and  read  the  first  line  of  each  stanza.  Suppose  we  find  how 
many  of  our  meadow  friends  are  in  this  poem.  The  children 
should  find  the  brook,  the  sheep,  the  cow,  etc.  Now  find  how 
many  meadow  noises  are  here.  The  children  find  Baa,  Moo,  etc. 
The  teacher  may  read  the  poem  first,  then  individual  children 
may  read  each  a  stanza.  Find  the  rhyming  words. 

Lesson  21. 

(P.  57.)  Assign  the  different  sentences  to  different  children. 
The  teacher  who  succeeded  in  handling  Lesson  17  by  having 
each  child  read  at  his  own  speed,  may  handle  this  lesson  in  the 
same  way,  each  child  doing  everything  suggested  on  the  page. 
Another  way  to  present  the  page  would  be  for  each  child  in  turn 
to  do  one  of  the  things  suggested,  making  his  own  selection, 
the  others  finding  the  command  which  he  is  obeying. 

Review. 

This  is  a  good  point  at  which  to  spend  a  week  in  reviewing 

50 


TEACHING  THE   RIVERSIDE   PRIMER 

the  pages  already  covered.  Six  story  groups  have  been  read, 
the  last  being  by  far  the  longest.  You  may  assign  each  story 
group  to  a  group  of  children,  one  of  whom  will  be  the  leader. 
Each  group  may  plan  who  is  to  read  each  page,  what  pages  shall 
be  dramatized,  etc.  Or  each  child  may  select  a  favorite  story, 
either  reading  it  himself  or  calling  on  others  to  read  it  with  him. 
Dearborn  found  that  in  reading  a  passage  the  second  time 
nearly  one- third  of  the  total  time  was  saved,  and  the  eye  made 
fewer  pauses  on  a  line,  a  gain  in  eye-control.  (See  p.  20.) 

Read  the  early  pages  of  this  manual,  also  pages  121-128  in 
the  Primer.  Are  you  getting  full  value  out  of  the  characteristic 
features  of  the  Riverside  Primer?  Are  you  utilizing  the  thought 
values?  Are  your  drills  short,  varied,  definite,  rapid?  Are  the 
children  gaining  power  to  recognize  words  through  context, 
through  sound  values?  Do  they  know  and  name  promptly  the 
words  of  the  fundamental  vocabulary,  the  phonic  elements 
which  have  been  taught?  Which  children  in  the  class  are  you 
holding  for  the  complete  vocabulary?  Have  you  learned  which 
words  to  tell  in  a  lesson ;  those  for  which  to  hold  the  class  respon- 
sible? Do  your  children  interpret  new  work  readily?  Are  both 
types  of  seat  work  represented  in  your  class  daily?  Are  your 
children  getting  good  habits  of  rate  in  reading?  What  are  you 
doing  for  the  pupil  who  does  not  learn  to  read?  How  much 
supplementary  reading  is  being  done? 

STORY   GROUP  —  GRANDPA  CLOCK  AND    CUCKOO    CLOCK 

Lesson  I. 

(Pp.  58,  59.)  Unless  the  children  have  seen  a  Grandpa  clock, 
the  teacher  needs  to  be  careful  that  they  get  right  ideas  of  its 
size  and  of  the  dignity  of  its  Tick-tock.  Have  them  listen  to 
the  ticking  of  the  schoolroom  clock,  then  give  them  the  pace  at 
which  the  Grandpa  clock  ticks  and  let  them  play  they  are 


HOW   TO   TEACH   READING 

Grandpa  clocks,  each  swinging  one  arm  for  a  pendulum.  The 
words  on  p.  58  are  so  in  keeping  with  their  thoughts  that  they 
should  give  little  trouble.  The  initial  and  final  sounds  of  clock 
and  tick-tock  are  known  and  may  help  in  determining  those 
words.  The  expressions  all  day  and  all  night  will  be  given  in 
discussing  how  long  the  Grandpa  clock  ticks.  Find  the  rhym- 
ing words  in  the  stanza.  Read  the  stanza  slowly,  in  keeping 
with  the  rhythm  of  the  Tick-tock.  A  Grandpa  clock  can  be 
constructed  out  of  a  1 6-inch  square  of  paper. 

Lesson  2. 

(Pp.  60,  6 1.)  The  charm  of  the  cuckoo  clock  for  a  child  can 
hardly  be  imagined.  Tell  the  children  of  the  little  bird  who 
comes  out  when  the  clock  is  ready  to  strike,  and  of  the  striking 
sounding  as  if  he  were  calling  cuckoo ,  cuckoo.  Have  the  Tick- 
tock  given  as  the  rhyme  says  very  quick.  The  rhyme  should  be 
read  at  a  speed  in  keeping  with  this  rate.  Have  the  two  stanzas, 
pp.  59  and  61,  read  to  show  the  contrast  in  movement.  The 
children  will  enjoy  this  display  of  voice  control. 

STORY  GROUP  —  THE  LADY  MOON 
Lessons  i  and  2. 

(Pp.  62,  63.)  Look  at  the  pictures  on  pp.  29,  41,  reading  or 
reciting  the  rhymes.  Examine  the  picture  on  p.  62.  What  is 
Betty  showing  her  dolly?  The  Teddy-bear  is  looking  too!  The 
first  lesson  may  well  close  with  the  sentence  You  will  soon  be 
dreaming.  Do  you  think  the  stars  look  like  white  daisies?  Is  the 
moon  like  a  lady  ?  Some  one  else  says : 

"  The  little  stars  are  the  lambs,  I  guess, 
And  the  fair  white  moon  is  the  shepherdess." 

Which  do  you  like  better,  to  think  of  star  daisies  or  star  lambs  ? 

In  the  second  lesson  the  dolly  is  dreaming.  What  may  she 
dream  about?  After  the  page  has  been  read,  let  the  children 

52 


TEACHING  THE   RIVERSIDE   PRIMER 

put  their  heads  on  the  desks  and  dream  some  of  these  dreams. 
Call  them  to  wake  up  and  have  them  tell  their  dreams.  Encour- 
age them  in  expanding  the  thought  suggested  to  them. 

Drill  period:  at,  that.  Build  the  words:  sat,  mat,  hat,  fat, 
cat,  bat. 

Lesson  j. 

(P.  64.)  Enjoy  the  picture.  What  do  these  stars  look  like? 
What  does  the  moon  look  like  ?  What  has  the  Lady  Moon  in  her 
hands?  What  is  she  doing?  Read  the  poem  to  the  children. 
Find  the  rhyming  words.  Find  these  word  groups :  When  I  go 
to  bed,  the  stars  shine,  the  little  daisies,  while  I  'm  dreaming 
so,  comes  to  gather  daisies.  Read  the  poem  again,  the  children 
reading  with  you  and  pointing  as  they  read.  Some  day  have 
them  memorize  the  poem.  Encourage  them  in  the  fancy  of 
finding  the  star  daisies  in  the  morning. 

Lesson  4. 

(Pp.  66,  67.)  These  are  review  pages  although  they  seem  to 
have  been  written  for  the  delight  of  reading  about  Once  on  a 
time.  Assign  the  sentence  groups  among  the  children,  one  child 
to  read  each  group,  one  to  dramatize  it.  The  child  may  drama- 
tize, the  class  may  guess  what  is  being  given,  then  the  reader 
may  read  the  sentence  group. 

Drill  period:  These  are  pages  well  adapted  to  identifying 
words  containing  well-known  sounds :  e  (ee),  y,  s,  m,  c,  k,  I,  bf 
t,  wh,  d.  Use  one  sentence  group  at  a  time.  A  child  or  the 
teacher  may  say  /  have  found  a  word  which  begins  with  s,  or 
ends  with  I.  The  one  who  gets  the  word  has  the  next  turn. 

STORY  GROUP  —  THE  LOST   CHICK 
Lesson  i. 

(Pp.  68-75.)  Bring  out  the  dramatic  side  of  this  story 
group  —  the  lost  chick,  where  it  was  lost,  what  the  hen,  the 

53 


HOW   TO   TEACH    READING 

rooster,  and  Betty  said,  finding  the  chick,  building  the  house 
for  it.  Work  through  the  whole  group  rapidly,  getting  the  story 
from  the  pictures,  counting  the  chickens  in  each,  reading  the 
titles,  giving  the  splendid  imitative  sounds.  Find  the  significant 
sentences  Oh,  one  little  chick  is  lost!  (P.  68.)  Oh,  here  it  is 
under  the  apple  tree!  (P.  73.) 

Lesson  2. 

(P.  68.)  Who  is  speaking  ?  How  do  you  know?  How  did  the 
mother  hen  feel  about  having  ten  little  chicks?  Read  the  first  two 
sentences  and  show  how  proud  and  happy  she  was.  How  many 
chicks  does  she  expect  to  count  ?  How  many  does  she  find  ?  Read 
the  two  sentences  about  counting  the  chicks.  How  does  the  mother 
hen  feel  when  she  finds  one  gone  ?  Read  what  she  says  and  show 
how  sad  and  frightened  she  is.  Assign  to  three  children,  one 
reading  about  the  proud  mother,  one  the  mother  making 
certain,  one  the  frightened  mother. 

This  is  a  lesson  in  which  the  children's  work  in  phonics  will 
help  them  in  getting  the  new  words.  They  know  the  initial 
and  final  sounds  of  these  words  and  with  the  aid  of  these  and  of 
the  context,  they  should  get  the  new  words  quite  independently. 

Lesson  j. 

(Pp.  69-71.)  Let  the  children  compare  the  first  rhyme  with 
those  on  pp.  37-39.  This  may  be  done  either  before  or  after 
they  attempt  its  oral  reading.  Before  attempting  to  read  the 
second  rhyme  orally  have  the  children  find  and  pronounce  the 
first  one  or  two  words  in  each  line,  reading  the  rest  of  the  line 
silently.  Find  and  name  the  rhyming  words.  Read  the  titles 
on  the  next  two  pages.  /  wonder  if  there  are  any  rhymes  on  these 
pages.  Find  the  rhyming  words,  the  lines  which  are  repeated. 
Let  each  child  choose  a  rhyme  to  prepare. 


54 


TEACHING   THE   RIVERSIDE   PRIMER 

Lesson  4. 

(Pp.  72,  73.)  Let  a  child  show  how  Betty  was  looking  for  her 
chick  when  Harry  met  her.  Harry  should  show  that  he  knows 
something  really  is  the  matter.  Betty  is  in  despair  when  she 
says  Where  can  it  be  ?  Where  can  it  be  ?  Have  the  children 
play  they  are  listening  when  reading  the  first  half  of  p.  73. 
What  is  the  most  joyful  sentence?  This  lesson  may  be  drama- 
tized again  and  again. 

Lesson  5. 

(Pp.  74,  75.)  Tell  the  old  story  of  "  The  House  That  Jack 
Built  "  at  some  period  preceding  the  reading  lesson,  letting  the 
children  repeat  as  much  as  they  know.  The  more  fortunate 
ones  will  know  it  all.  Here  is  another  House  That  Jack  Built. 
What  kind  of  house  is  this  ?  Have  the  children  identify  the  pic- 
tures of  the  house,  crumbs,  chicks,  hen,  and  girl,  finding  the 
corresponding  word  in  the  first  line  of  each  sentence.  Get  the 
swing,  the  sing-song  of  this  delightful  style  of  diction. 

Drill  period:  th,  that.  Other  words:  this,  there.  Build  the 
words:  thy,  though,  then. 

Lesson  6. 

(Pp.  68-75.)  Assign  the  parts  of  the  story  to  the  children  and 
plan  to  have  it  dramatized  as  read.  By  careful  planning  every 
child  may  have  a  part.  A  group  of  children  standing  out  of  the 
space  needed  by  the  chick,  the  hen,  Betty,  etc.,  may  read  at  the 
proper  times  Ten  Little  Chickens,  What  Can  the  Matter  Be, 
The  House  That  Jack  Built,  They  Loved  One  Another.  The 
nine  chickens  may  cry  Peep,  peep,  as  they  pick  up  crumbs  in 
the  safe  barnyard.  Jack  may  hammer  away  at  the  house  before 
p.  74  is  read. 

Another  type  of  review  would  be  for  a  child  to  choose  a 
sentence  to  illustrate  by  action.  The  others  guess  what  he  is 

SS 


HOW   TO   TEACH   READING 

trying  to  portray,  finding  and  reading  the  sentence.  Several 
sentences  will  often  be  read  before  the  right  one  is  found. 

Lesson  /. 

(Pp.  76,  77.)  These  pages  recognize  the  value  of  recalling 
thoughts.  The  thought  content  of  the  Riverside  Primer  is 
worth  recalling.  Let  the  children  answer  as  many  questions  as 
they  can.  Give  needed  help  with  words  but  not  with  thoughts. 
When  the  lesson  is  finished,  direct  the  children  to  the  pages 
which  will  answer  the  questions  which  remain  unanswered. 
These  pages  may  well  be  used  as  a  silent  reading  lesson,  as 
were  pp.  52,  53,  57.  If  the  title  Where  troubles  the  children, 
have  them  turn  to  p.  34  and  find  it  there. 

Drill  period :  The  phrases  recalled  on  p.  77  may  be  listed  for 
drill :  in  the  sky,  in  her  little  bed,  in  the  meadow,  etc. 

PLAN   FOR   STORY   GROUP  —  MERRY  GAMES 
Lesson  I. 

(Pp.  78,  79.)  The  conversation  about  the  picture  will  employ 
the  words  and  word  groups  which  are  new.  Have  a  march,  one 
child  playing  Harry  and  blowing  the  bugle,  one  playing  Charlie 
and  beating  the  drum.  Enjoy  the  Rub-a-dub-dub.  How  it 
rolls!  Read  the  titles  on  p.  79,  turning  to  pp.  37  and  70  for 
Did  You  Ever  and  What  if  they  give  trouble.  The  children  may 
answer  the  questions  by  pointing  to  the  picture,  by  pointing  to 
the  sentence  on  p.  78  which  answers,  or  may  answer  orally. 
Let  the  children  realize  that  "  No  "  is  as  valuable  an  answer 
to  these  questions  as  "  Yes,"  otherwise  they  will  be  encouraged 
to  tell  untruths.  Perhaps  the  teacher  herself  has  never  had  all 
these  experiences.  As  the  ideas  here  are  new,  these  questions 
would  better  be  answered  in  order  by  individual  children.  At 
another  time  they  may  be  read  silently  and  answered  silently, 


TEACHING   THE   RIVERSIDE   PRIMER 

each  child  working  at  his  own  rate  of  speed,  answering  orally  as 
the  teacher  comes  to  him. 

Lesson  2. 

(Pp.  80-83.)  These  children  are  getting  ready  to  play  a  game. 
What  game  do  you  suppose  it  is  ?  Those  children  who  are  used 
to  playing  /  Spy  will  have  no  trouble  with  the  title.  Where  the 
game  is  known  as  Hide-and-Seek,  the  teacher  will  need  to 
explain  the  identity  of  the  two.  Who  suggested  playing  ?  Find 
the  sentence  which  tells.  Who  chose  I  spy  ?  How  do  you  find  who 
will  be  it  ?  What  rhyme  do  you  say  when  you  count  out  ?  Let  us 
see  how  we  like  the  rhyme  these  children  used.  The  teacher  may 
read  it,  pointing  to  the  children  as  if  counting  out.  Get  the 
rhythm,  pointing  only  on  the  important  words:  — 

One,  two,  three, 
A  bird  in  a  tree. 
The  little  brook  flows, 

And  out  he  goes. 

Who  is  counted  out  first  ?  Children  find  answers  to  these  ques- 
tions in  text,  and  point  as  they  read  them.  Next  ?  Next  ?  Who  is 
it?  What  does  Jack  say  when  he  blinds  his  eyes  ?  Are  the  children 
ready  when  he  finishes  counting  to  ten  ?  What  does  Jack  do  then  ? 
Who  is  spied  first  ?  Who  gets  home  free  ?  Who  will  be  it  next  ? 
Where  did  the  children  hide  ?  That  was  a  fine  game! 

Lesson  j. 

(Pp.  80-83.)  The  study  lesson  of  yesterday  was  as  much  a 
reading  lesson  as  any  oral  reading  lesson.  The  children  are  now 
ready  to  dramatize  while  reading  orally.  It  may  be  well  to 
practice  counting  out  before  the  full  dramatization  is  begun. 
Work  with  Jack's  speeches  also  until  they  can  be  given  rapidly. 
The  dramatization  may  be  continued,  Betty  being  it  and  begin' 
ning  /  will  count  to  ten. 

57 


HOW  TO  TEACH   READING 

Lesson  4. 

(Pp.  84,  85.)  Have  the  children  play  swing  and  seesaw  to  get 
the  different  rhythms.  For  the  swing  the  arms  may  be  swung 
from  side  to  side  in  front  of  the  body;  for  the  seesaw  extend 
the  arms  sideways  even  with  the  shoulders,  palms  down,  bend- 
ing the  trunk  at  the  waist,  to  the  left,  to  the  right,  the  arms 
moving  with  the  trunk.  These  are  rhymes  in  which  a  compara- 
tively insignificant  word,  up,  becomes  very  significant.  Memo- 
rize the  stanzas,  especially  The  Swing,  reciting  them  with 
appropriate  rhythm. 

Drill  period :  ow,  how.  Words  which  may  be  built :  cow,  bow, 
sow,  mow,  now,  bow-wow-wow.  The  poem  on  p.  84  calls  by 
its  rhythm  for  the  accenting  of  how  and  the  prolonging  of  ow. 

Lesson  5. 

(Pp.  86,  87.)  This  lesson  and  the  two  which  follow  suggest 
visits  to  the  neighboring  baker's,  blacksmith's  and  tailor's 
shops,  followed  by  conversational  lessons.  Teach  the  rhyme  on 
p.  86.  Find  the  words:  baker,  buns,  penny,  money.  Several 
children  may  hippity  hop  to  the  baker's  shop  while  others  read 
the  rhyme.  Dramatize  p.  87  as  it  is  read  the  first  time. 

Lessons  6,  7. 

(Pp.  88-91.)  Treat  these  as  you  did  the  preceding  lesson. 

Lesson  8. 

(Pp.  86-91.)  Assign  each  rhyme  to  a  child,  also  assign  parts 
for  dramatizing  each  scene.  Although  one  child  carried  on  the 
dialogue  with  a  merchant,  other  children  are  in  the  party. 

Lesson  o. 

(P.  92.)  The  titles  may  be  read  orally,  the  children  turning 
to  pp.  77  and  79  if  they  have  trouble.  Or  they  may  get  the 

58 


TEACHING  THE   RIVERSIDE   PRIMER 

titles  by  sounding.  The  questions  are  to  be  read  silently  and 
answered  orally. 

Drill  period:  Work  with  word  groups;  who  can  shoe,  who  can 
make,  what  do  you  see,  where  can  you  get,  at  the  baker's  shop, 
for  the  pony. 

Lesson  IO. 

(P-  93-)  Encourage  originality  in  illustrating  the  different 
situations.  The  blacksmith  will  need  to  have  another  child 
represent  the  pony. 

PLAN   FOR  STORY  GROUP  —  HURRAH  FOR  THE  CIRCUS 
Lesson  i. 

(Pp.  94,  95.)  It  helps  greatly  to  read  this  lesson  at  circus 
time,  although  it  may  also  be  read  in  its  natural  sequence. 
The  names  of  the  animals  will  not  be  troublesome  if  the  children 
know  each  well  enough  to  talk  about  it.  The  initial  sounds  are 
familiar.  Give  the  sound  m.  What  animal  am  I  thinking  of? 
See  if  you  find  the  monkey's  name  at  the  end  of  these  sentences. 
The  word  clown  can  be  sounded.  Be  sure  the  children  read 
Hurrah  with  spirit. 

Drill  period:  w,  will.  Words  which  can  be  built:  we,  way, 
wing,  wake,  wall.  Other  words:  wash,  wind,  woo,  well,  window, 
were.  By  this  time  the  children  will  be  ready  to  give  many 
words  containing  a  phonic  element.  Sometimes  these  may  be 
given  orally  only.  Play  this  game.  /  see  something  which  begins 
with  s.  What  is  it  ?  Some  child  guesses  sand.  No,  it  is  not  sand, 
or  Yes,  it  is  sand.  The  child  who  has  guessed  correctly  has  the 
next  turn.  In  the  same  way  play,  /  see  something  which  rhymes 
with  joy.  Yes,  I  see  a  boy. 


59 


HOW  TO  TEACH   READING 

PLAN  FOR  STORY  GROUP  —  NOAH'S  ARK 

Lesson  i. 

(Pp.  96,  97.)  This  lesson  may  well  be  preceded  by  the  Bible 
story  of  the  flood,  bringing  out  the  care  of  God  for  his  people 
and  for  the  animals.  Let  the  children  find  in  the  picture  the 
animals  which  they  know,  finding  their  names  in  the  text.  If 
they  name  them  in  the  order  of  the  procession,  they  will  easily 
follow  the  text. 

Each  child  may  himself  make  a  toy  Noah's  ark  out  of  a  box, 
cutting  the  animals  from  paper. 

Drill  period :  Work  with  word  groups :  is  ready,  in  line,  two 
by  two,  here  come,  and  more,  two  hens,  two  dogs. 

This  is  another  point  at  which  a  week  may  profitably  be 
spent  in  review  work.  Read  the  suggestions  for  review  (p.  50, 
of  this  manual.)  Make  sure  of  the  fundamental  and  com- 
plete vocabularies,  the  phonic  elements  on  pp.  121-128.  Work 
with  the  rhymes  on  p.  1 19.  See  how  many  letters  of  the  alpha- 
bet the  children  know  (p.  120).  They  may  each  make  an 
alphabet  book,  the  letter  appearing  on  one  page,  lists  of  words 
and  illustrative  pictures  opposite  it.  They  may  cut  out  from 
advertisements  letters  which  they  know.  Be  sure  these  are  large 
enough  not  to  strain  the  eyes. 

PLAN  FOR  STORY  GROUP  —  A  VISIT  AT  GRANDPA'S 
Lesson  I. 

(Pp.  98,  99.)  Who  are  going  away  ?  What  noises  does  the  train 
make  as  it  pulls  into  the  station  ?  Where  do  you  suppose  Harry 
and  Betty  are  going  ?  Read  the  last  line  on  p.  99  and  see  if  you  can 
find  out.  What  do  you  suppose  the  father  is  saying  to  the  train- 
man ?  Play  that  you  are  Harry  and  read  p.  98.  Play  that  you  are 
Betty  and  read  it.  Now  they  are  on  the  train  sitting  by  the  window. 

60 


TEACHING  THE   RIVERSIDE   PRIMER 

Read  until  you  find  something  they  see  which  you  have  seen  from 
the  train.  Are  they  looking  at  pictures?  Do  houses  run  by?  Do 
trees  fly  past  us? 

When  the  children  have  found  that  some  of  their  experiences 
on  the  train  are  like  Betty's  and  Harry's,  read  the  rhyme  to 
them.  Later  they  may  read  it,  deciding  which  parts  Harry 
said,  which  Betty  said.  Dramatize  the  two  pages.  Does  the 
father  go  with  them  ?  Find  the  answer  to  this  question  in  the  next 
lesson. 

Lesson  2. 

(P.  100.)  Why  did  Harry  and  Betty  write  this  letter  ?  Do  you 
suppose  they  really  wrote  it  ?  Perhaps  they  signed  their  names  or 
put  in  some  kisses.  When  did  they  send  the  letter  ?  As  the  children 
read,  let  them  tell  of  their  own  experiences  in  visiting  Grandpa 
and  Grandma.  Have  one  or  two  strong  children  read  the  entire 
letter  at  the  close  of  the  lesson. 

Lesson  j. 

(P.  101.)  Why  did  Father  and  Mother  write  this  letter?  When 
did  they  send  it  ?  Had  they  received  the  children's  letter  ?  Read  the 
sentence  which  tells  you.  What  surprise  was  waiting  for  the 
children  at  home  ?  Were  Father  and  Mother  getting  lonesome  ? 
Read  the  sentence  which  tells.  Have  the  entire  letter  read. 
Dramatize  the  writing  of  each  letter,  the  receiving  of  each. 

PLAN   FOR   STORY   GROUP  —  WHAT   I  LIKE 

Lessons  i  and  2. 

(Pp.  102-104.)  Assign  a  stanza  to  each  child  or  let  each 
choose  his  own.  When  all  are  ready  have  them  read  in  order. 
Those  who  can  do  so,  may  illustrate  by  action.  Find  the 
rhyming  words  in  each  stanza.  The  teacher  may  show  the 
pictures  on  the  following  pages:  9,  29,  44,  62,  49,  95,  58,  78,  85; 

61 


HOW   TO   TEACH   READING 

the  children  finding  and  reading  the  stanza  which  tells  about 
each. 

Lesson  3. 

(P.  105.)  Use  as  a  silent  reading  lesson,  each  child  following 
his  own  rate  of  speed.  As  you  move  from  child  to  child  ask 
what  he  likes  about  picking  apples,  looking  at  pictures,  etc. 
Be  sure  that  each  is  thinking  as  he  reads.  As  a  final  test  of 
appreciation,  have  each  point  to  that  which  he  likes  to  see  best, 
to  hear  best,  to  do  best.  Or  let  him  illustrate  these  by  action, 
by  giving  the  imitative  words,  by  telling  more  than  is  told  on 
the  page. 

PLAN   FOR  STORY  GROUP  —  AUTUMN  AND  WINTER 

Lesson  i. 

(Pp.  106,  107.)  Teach  the  poem.  Talk  about  the  bonfire 
(with  a  word  of  precaution  as  to  danger).  Each  sentence  on 
p.  106  is  a  picture.  Let  each  child  find  a  picture  sentence,  read  it, 
and  tell  what  he  sees:  e.g.,  They  fall  from  the  tall  trees.  I  see 
tall  trees  with  the  leaves  falling  from  them.  Let  us  gather  leaves 
to  make  a  fire.  I  see  some  children  gathering  leaves.  They  put 
them  in  a  pile.  Perhaps  the  children  will  enjoy  knowing  that 
grown  people  call  this  "  reading  between  the  lines." 

Lesson  2. 

(P.  108.)  Like  the  circus  lesson  and  the  story  group,  "  The 
Christmas  Tree,"  this  page  should  be  read  at  its  appropriate 
time,  the  day  of  the  first  snowfall.  Such  a  day  will  yield  delight- 
ful experiences  for  a  supplementary  blackboard  reading  lesson. 
(See  p.  16,  of  this  manual.) 


62 


TEACHING   THE   RIVERSIDE   PRIMER 

PLAN  FOR   STORY  GROUP  —  THE  CHRISTMAS  TREE 

Lesson  i. 

(Pp.  109,  1 10.)  Picture  the  surroundings  of  the  fir  tree,  the 
many  other  trees  in  the  forest,  their  straight  trunks,  the  quiet 
of  the  forest.  What  did  the  little  fir  tree  wish  to  be?  Why?  How 
had  it  heard  of  being  a  Christmas  tree  ?  How  much  would  it  have 
to  grow?  What  helps  a  tree  to  grow?  Which  did  the  fir  tree  ask 
first?  Finish  through  Part  II,  emphasizing  the  helping  and  the 
growing.  Dramatize  Parts  I  and  n. 

Drill  period:  Work  with  word  groups:  /  may  be,  I  will  grow, 
I  will  help,  to  the  sun,  to  the  air,  to  the  wind,  to  the  rain. 

Lesson  2. 

(Pp.  in,  112.)  In  Part  ill  bring  out  the  increasing  hope  of 
the  little  tree;  in  Part  iv  the  wonder  and  suspense  of  the  helpers. 
Was  the  bird  right  ?  Did  the  little  tree  become  a  Christmas  tree  ? 

Lesson  j. 

(P.  113.)  There  are  fine  contrasts  in  this  lesson,  —  the  glee 
of  the  children  at  first,  their  quiet  listening  at  last;  the  inde- 
pendence of  Harry  and  Betty  in  hanging  up  their  own  stock- 
ings, their  care  for  Baby  in  hanging  up  her  stockings  and  shoes ; 
the  clear  shouts  of  the  older  ones,  the  Baby's  attempt  to  imi- 
tate. By  all  means  dramatize  this. 

Lesson  4. 

(Pp.  114,  115.)  Again  there  are  contrasts  to  bring  out, — 
the  varying  sizes  of  stockings,  the  wakefulness  of  Betty  and 
Baby,  Harry  still  dreaming.  What  did  he  see  on  his  dream 
Christmas  tree  ? 

Drill  period:  er,  her.  Find  on  the  following  pages  words 
which  end  in  er  or  ers:  pp.  27, 30,3?*  38>  39>  41,  56,  64,71,  73, 

63 


HOW  TO  TEACH   READING 

85,  86,  88,  101, 107.  Assign  a  page  to  each  child,  list  the  words 
on  the  blackboard  as  rapidly  as  they  are  found.  Let  each  child 
see  if  he  can  name  three.  Erase  those  which  are  best  known  and 
drill  on  the  remainder. 

Lesson  5. 

(Pp.  116-118.)  What  delight  this  lesson  will  give!  How 
many  experiences  the  children  bring  to  its  reading.  Did  the 
fir  tree  become  a  Christmas  tree? 

Lesson  6. 

Read  the  entire  story  group.  Make  much  of  dramatizing. 

Review  the  entire  Primer  by  selecting  a  few  story  groups  to 
read.  Let  the  children  turn  to  the  table  of  contents  (p.  2) 
and  help  select  these.  Let  children  read  favorite  rhymes, 
dramatize  favorite  pages,  find  a  page  to  read  silently.  Be  sure 
that  the  formal  work  (pp.  119-128)  is  well  mastered. 


IV.  TEACHING  THE  RIVERSIDE  FIRST  READER 

PLAN  FOR  STORY  GROUP  —  TALES  OF  LONG  AGO 

Lesson  i. 

(Pp.  3-7.)  Enjoy  the  pictures,  emphasize  the  family  rela- 
tions:—  the  grandfather  reading  to  the  grandson,  the  little 
girl  looking  at  pictures  and  the  baby  pointing,  the  little  girl 
playing  Pat-a-cake  with  the  baby.  Let  the  children  find  the 
rhymes  on  pp.  6  and  7,  reciting  them  if  they  know  them.  Read 
to  them  the  poem  on  p.  4 ;  later  they  will  read  it  and  re-read  it. 
Dwell  on  the  age  of  the  tales.  Perhaps  some  child  can  bring 
from  home  a  story  book  which  belonged  to  father,  mother,  or 
grandmother,  reading  from  it  if  possible.  Teach  the  children 
to  play  Pat-a-cake  and  Pease  porridge  hot.  Dramatize  the 
game  with  the  baby.  Ask  at  later  times  if  they  have  taught  the 
baby  at  home. 

Drill  period:  old,  old;  s,  as;  ook,  look. 

Word  list  i :  sold,  mold,  hold,  fold,  cold,  bold,  told,  has, 
his,  hook,  cook,  look,  book,  took. 

Word  list  2 :  brook,  tales,  lands,  reads,  eyes,  doest  choose, 
rolls,  pulls,  cares,  rose. 

NOTE.  —  Words  listed  under  I  are  those  which  children 
should  be  able  to  sound,  they  having  had  all  phonic  elements  in 
these  words.  Words  listed  under  2  are  taken  in  general  from 
the  complete  vocabulary.  Some  of  these  the  children  will 
recognize,  others  they  may  be  able  to  sound,  the  teacher  will 
need  to  help  with  others.  No  attempt  has  been  made  to  have 
these  lists  exhaustive.  Enough  have  been  given,  however,  to 
stimulate  the  children,  to  challenge  their  mastery  of  sounds. 

65 


HOW   TO  TEACH   READING 

Lesson  2. 

(Pp.  3-7.)  Again  read  the  poem  on  p.  4,  the  children  follow- 
ing and  reading  with  you.  The  pages  following  may  be  read 
with  little  comment  if  the  first  lesson  was  well  given.  The 
unity  of  each  page  makes  the  final  assignment  easy,  one  child 
will  read  each  page. 

Drill  period:  ine,  nine;  n,  nine. 

1 .  Mine,  miner,  fine,  line,  whine,  dine,  thine,  no,  nun,  Nan, 
Nat,  now. 

2.  Never,  need,  nothing,  run,  hen,  ten,  man,  horn,  seven. 

Lesson  j. 

(Pp.  8,9.)  Teach  the  rhymes  on  p.  8.  Enjoy  the  swing  of  the 
lines,  the  rhyming  words,  Locket,  pocket,  found,  round,  the 
alliterative  structure  (see  p.  126).  Find  significant  words  and 
word  groups:  lost  a  pocket,  found  it,  a  ribbon  round  it.  Use  p.  9 
largely  as  a  silent  reading  lesson.  Who  would  like  to  do  what  the 
title  says?  What  the  first  line  says?  Let  some  child  answer  the 
first  question,  the  second,  the  third.  Let  Lucy  and  Kitty  read 
silently  the  lines  telling  them  what  to  do,  what  to  say.  Do  not 
hold  for  exactness  of  oral  reading  here. 

Drill  period :  ound,  found. 

1 .  Mound,  sound,  hound,  bound. 

2.  Ground,  round. 

Lesson  4. 

(Pp.  10,  n.)  Little  Miss  Muffet  may  be  recited,  read,  dram- 
atized. Let  the  children  find  the  rhyming  words:  Muffet, 
tuffet;  wJtey,  away;  black  spider,  beside  her.  Do  the  children 
understand  tuffet,  curds,  and  whey  ?  How  did  the  spider  get 
there  ?  Tell  the  children  that  spiders  spin  long  lines  and  then 
swing  on  them,  dropping  down  a  long  distance  from  where 
they  start.  Read  them  the  poem  on  p.  n.  Who  was  the  little 

66 


TEACHING  THE   RIVERSIDE  FIRST   READER 

girl  ?  Was  this  play  for  the  spider?  for  Miss  Muffet  ?  Have  the 
children  find  the  lines  which  are  repeated  (the  first  and  third 
are  alike  in  each  stanza),  the  word  groups  which  are  repeated. 
How  many  times  is  each  repeated?  Assign  the  stanzas  to  differ- 
ent children  and  have  the  poem  read. 

Drill  period :  words  in  fundamental  vocabulary,  column  I . 

Lesson  5. 

(Pp.  12, 13.)  Treat  Little  Jack  Homer  as  you  did  Little  Miss 
Muffet.  Find  some  of  the  significant  words  and  word  groups 
from  the  rhyme  on  p.  13.  Notice  the  appeal  to  curiosity  in 
Just  then  he  saw  something,  and  again  in  the  rhyme  which 
follows.  Let  the  children  guess  what  the  farmer  is  going  to  do. 
Dramatize  p.  13. 

Drill  period :  p,  put. 

'i .  Pay,  pen,  pill,  pat,  pine,  pound,  spill,  spine. 

2.  Sheep,  deep,  ship,  pig,  putts,  pie,  pocket,  plum,  plain. 

Lessons  6-9. 

(Pp.  14-2 1 .)  Utilize  the  pictures  in  working  out  these  lessons. 
The  children  may  guess  how  the  farmer,  the  miller,  and  the 
others  helped  in  making  the  pie,  but  be  sure  they  realize  that 
Jack  does  not  find  out  until  his  mother  tells  him.  The  expres- 
sion, Then  Jack  saw  something  else,  and  the  introduction  of  a 
new  character  make  each  time  an  appeal  to  curiosity.  Did  the 
farmer  tell  Jack  how  he  helped  make  the  pie  ?  Will  the  miller 
tell  about  the  farmer  ?  How  can  Jack  find  out  how  the  farmer 
helped?  Let  the  children  try  to  portray  Jack's  astonishment 
when  the  farmer  said,  You  see,  I  helped  make  it,  and  the 
amusement  of  the  latter  at  Jack's  unbelief.  When  the  sentences 
ending  nowhere  to  be  seen  (p.  20)  are  read,  have  the  children 
think  of  Jack  as  looking  all  around,  over  and  over  again.  This 
section  may  be  made  quite  dramatic.  Have  the  questions  at  the 

67 


HOW  TO  TEACH   READING 

foot  of  p.  21  read  silently  and  answered  orally.   The  entire 
series  will  make  a  fine  dramatization. 

Drill  periods :  words  in  fundamental  vocabulary,  column  2 : 
ed,  red;  r,  red;  own,  down. 

1.  Fed,  led,  bed,  Ted,  Ned,  ray,  ring,  rake,  rill,  run,  rat,  row, 
round,  town,  crowns,  clown,  brown. 

2.  Your,  mother,  father,  flower,  water f  ride,  rest,  reads, 
road,  right,  roof,  rolls. 

Lesson  10. 

(Pp.  22,  23.)  Make  much  of  these  pictures.  Where  is  the 
ship  ?  Which  is  Bobby  Shafto  ?  What  are  the  other  sailors  doing  ? 
What  great  city  is  this  ?  These  children  play  they  are  going  there. 
Find  to  London  town.  In  the  second  stanza  where  do  the  children 
play  they  are  going?  Find  home  from  London  town.  Find  the 
lines  which  are  repeated.  When  the  poems  have  been  read,  let 
children  play  going  to  London  town,  galloping  in  the  rhythm 
of  the  stanza. 

Drill  period:  word  groups:  gone  to  sea,  in  other  lands,  one 
foot,  the  other  foot,  that  is  the  way,  that 's  the  way,  to  London 
town,  from  London  town. 

Lessons  11-14. 

(Pp.  24-31.)  There  is  real  dramatic  movement  here,  char- 
acters coming  and  going,  a  fine  climax  when  the  third  bird 
awakens  Little  Boy  Blue  and  he  comes  back  to  his  duty,  and  a 
most  satisfactory  ending  with  sheep  and  cows  back  in  the  field 
and  Little  Boy  Blue  thanking  the  faithful  bluebird.  The  first 
lesson  may  well  be  a  study  lesson  including  the  whole  story, 
children  reading  silently  to  find  the  sentences  which  answer 
significant  questions,  Who  is  this  ?  Where  is  he  ?  Who  came  ?  Did 
he  waken  Little  Boy  Blue  ?  Do  not  let  the  children  answer  these 
questions  from  memory,  insist  on  their  finding  the  answers  in 
the  lesson.  Further  lessons  may  deal  with  the  main  parts  of 

68 


TEACHING  THE  RIVERSIDE   FIRST  READER 

the  story  in  detail:  Little  Boy  Blue  and  the  first  little  bird,  the 
first  and  second  birds  and  what  they  did,  the  third  little  bird 
and  his  success.  The  children  may  think  of  appropriate  names 
for  these  parts.  There  is  fine  opportunity  for  voice  training  in 
the  singing  of  the  birds:  very,  very  softly;  very  softly;  louder 
and  louder;  just  as  loud  as  he  could  sing;  the  final  happy  song. 
How  loud  was  that? 
Drill  periods:  eep,  sheep,  sh,  sheep,  orn,  corn. 

1.  Keep,  weep,  peep,  sleep,  shake,  shy,  shun,  shook,  shine, 
shed,  morn,  horn,  born,  corner,  Homer,  morning. 

2.  Shepherd,  wish,  shone,  fresh,  rushes,  ship,  shaking. 

Lesson  75. 

(Pp.  32,  33.)  These  pages  emphasize  the  value  of  recall  in 
reading,  the  bringing  again  to  mind  of  that  which  has  been 
read  at  a  previous  time.  Children  may  read  each  question, 
pointing  to  the  picture  when  answering  the  questions  begin- 
ning with  Which.  When  the  other  questions  have  been 
answered,  let  each  child  find  and  read  the  rhyme  about  one  of 
the  characters  named. 

Drill  period :  ell,  tell. 

i.  Sell,  fell,  bell,  dell,  well,  shell,  seller,  telling. 

As  each  story  group  is  finished,  make  sure  that  the  necessary 
word  and  phonic  drills  which  accompany  it  have  been  thor- 
oughly done.  Select  favorite  pages  to  read.  (See  p.  51,  of  this 
manual.) 

PLAN  FOR  STORY  GROUP  —  UNDER  THE  APPLE  TREE 

General  preparation:  To  get  the  most  from  these  lessons, 
children  must  have  seen  an  apple  tree,  smelled  the  fragrant 
blossoms,  watched  the  birds  and  bees,  played  under  the  trees. 
Such  lessons  should  help  the  children  to  recall  observations  they 
have  made  and  should  send  them  out  eager  for  fresh  experiences. 

69 


HOW   TO   TEACH    READING 

Lesson  I. 

(P.  34.)  See  that  the  children  get  the  pictures,  imitate  the 
sounds.  They  go  drifting  away  calls  for  interpretation  to  express 
the  delicate  motion  portrayed.  The  page  may  be  read  in  sen- 
tence groups.  Encourage  the  children  from  now  on  to  read 
several  sentences  together. 

Lesson  2. 

(Pp.  35,  36.)  The  pictures  on  p.  35  tell  the  story.  Let  each 
child  choose  a  picture  and  read  the  stanza  which  describes  it. 
Find  the  rhyming  words.  The  picture  on  p.  36  suggests  many 
elements  in  the  poem:  Early  every  morning,  a  birdie,  in  the 
blossoms.  This  page  and  the  next  may  emphasize  the  joy  of 
getting  up  in  the  morning,  there  are  so  many  things  to  see  and 
to  do.  Imitate  the  bird's  call.  This  poem  may  well  be  memo- 
rized. 

Drill  period :  etf  get;  gf  get. 

1.  Set,  met,  wet,  let,  net,  pet,  getting,  petting,  petted, 
wettest,  letter,  better,  gay,  go,  gun,  gold,  ground,  gown, 
golden,  going. 

2.  Ago,  grew,  pig,  together,  log,  begins. 

Lesson  j. 

(P.  37.)  Notice  again  the  greater  intensity  with  which  the 
bird  sings  at  the  last.  Who  else  was  wakened  by  a  little  bird's 
singing?  Turn  to  pp.  28  and  29  and  read  the  bird's  songs. 

Lesson  4. 

(Pp.  38,  39.)  Find  the  pictures,  the  sounds,  the  rhyming 
words.  Be  sure  that  the  children  understand  the  help  of  the 
flowers,  rain,  and  sun.  Do  they  like  the  sweet,  sweet  honey? 

Drill  period :  fundamental  vocabulary,  column  3. 

70 


TEACHING  THE   RIVERSIDE  FIRST   READER 

Lesson  5. 

(Pp.  40, 41 .)  Have  each  stanza  read  in  couplets  which  appeal 
to  the  birdie,  the  bee,  the  wind.  How  much  may  depend  upon 
the  way  one  says  please  !  Re-read  favorite  pages  of  this  story 
group. 

Drill  period :  work  with  word  groups,  a  nest  and  four  eggs, 
where  the  wind  is  singing,  to  the  mother  bird,  please  sing  a 
song,  while  you  're  busy,  the  songs  of  the  apple  tree. 

Lessons  6,  7. 

(Pp.  42-45.)  An  imaginary  circus  has  great  charms.  What 
animal  do  the  children  play  that  the  kitten  is?  the  dog?  What 
does  the  kitten  mean  when  she  mews  so  hard  ?  the  dog  when  he 
barks  ?  Could  we  play  circus  here  ?  Let  the  children  improvise 
tunes  for  the  rhymes  on  pp.  44^-45.  (See  p.  32,  of  this  manual.) 

Drill  period :  idet  ride. 

1.  Side,  hide,  hiding,  tide,  wide,  rider,  widest. 

2.  Besides. 

Lesson  8. 

(Pp.  46,  47.)  The  children  know  the  first  stanza  of  The 
Swing.  Bring  out  the  thought  of  being  up,  up  so  high,  of  seeing 
so  far  away.  Memorize  the  poem.  Notice  the  author's  name. 

PLAN  FOR  STORY  GROUP  —  THE  LITTLE  RED  HEN 
Lessons  J,  2. 

(Pp.  48  to  middle  of  52.)  Examine  the  pictures,  become 
acquainted  with  the  characters,  find  their  names  in  the  text. 
In  the  first  reading,  the  teacher  may  well  read  the  rhymes  so 
that  the  movement  through  to  the  end  may  have  a  satisfactory 
speed.  How  much  efficiency  is  expressed  in  each  And  she  did! 
The  children  may  think  of  names  for  the  parts,  such  as,  — 
sowing,  reaping,  grinding,  baking.  Note  the  parts  of  the 


HOW   TO  TEACH   READING 

stanzas  which  are  alike.  Compare  These  grains  I '//  sou;  with 
If  grains  you  sow.  Did  the  hen  do  right?  Why? 

Lesson  j. 

(Pp.  52,  53.)  There  is  splendid  contrast  here  between  the 
complacency  of  the  hen  and  the  retribution  of  the  others. 
Dramatize  the  complete  story.  Will  it  aid  the  effect  to  finish 
with  What  the  Others  Said?  Can  some  children  read  the  entire 
story? 

PLAN   FOR   STORY  GROUP  —  A  DOZEN   TOILERS 

General  preparation:  Children  are  interested  in  the  busy 
people  about  them.  They  seem  to  appreciate  the  earnest  spirit 
of  the  workers.  Each  is  proud  of  his  father's  work.  There  is 
much  planning  as  to  being  an  engineer,  a  fireman,  or  some 
other  splendid  worker  "  When  I  grow  up."  Encourage  them  to 
watch  the  workers,  to  ask  questions  about  the  work,  to  tell  the 
class  what  they  have  seen  or  heard.  Take  the  class  to  see  some 
of  the  toilers. 

Types  of  lessons:  There  are  lessons  to  read  and  discuss 
because  of  the  wonderful  facts  which  they  tell.  (Pp.  54,  55,  56, 
etc.)  Other  lessons  are  for  dialogues  or  dramatizing.  (Pp.  61, 
70,  71,  8 1  ff.)  See  that  the  beautiful  poems  are  memorized 
when  they  are  understood.  Bring  out  the  quiet  humor  in  the 
poem  about  A  Diamond  or  a  Coal  (p.  74).  The  class  may 
improvise  tunes  for  the  beautiful  lullabies  (pp.  92-97).  The 
review  lessons  (pp.  86-91, 104-105)  call  for  thinking  on  the  part 
of  the  children.  Some  of  these  pages  may  be  used  for  silent  read- 
ing. (See  p.  2 1 .)  Identify  each  stanza  on  p.  89  with  the  riddle 
it  describes  on  p.  90.  (Pp.  62,  65,  69.)  These  may  be  read, 
then  dramatized  by  changing  the  wording,  an  excellent  bit  of 
language  work:  i.e.,  "  lam  an  engineer.  My  engine  is  running 
forty  miles  an  hour.  The  train  rushes  over  hill  and  plain.  Hear 

72 


TEACHING  THE   RIVERSIDE   FIRST   READER 

the  whistle,  Toot,  toot.  Hear  the  bell,  Ding-dong.  I  am  stop- 
ping my  train  at  the  station/' 

Opportunities  for  emphasis  upon  expression:  imitating  the 
movements  of  the  toilers,  their  cheery  calls;  how  the  train 
caller's  voice  will  ring  out!  Special  sentences  portraying  emo- 
tion, /  should  hear  the  whistle  in  my  dreams  (p.  65).  "  Watch 
out !  "  says  the  gong  (p.  68).  Away  over  the  houses  !  (p.  77). 

Drill  periods  (p.  60) :  ainf  train. 

i .  Main,  pain,  rain,  gain,  paint,  grain,  plain,  training,  pained f 
painter,  gaining,  plainest. 

(P.  83):  test,  rest. 

1.  Lest,  best,  test,  west,  nest,  resting,  western,  nested. 

2.  Forests. 

(P.  92) :  light,  night. 

i.  Sight,  bright,  might,  fight,  light,  tight,  fighting,  lighten, 
tighter,  lighted,  brightest. 

Fundamental  vocabulary,  column  4. 

Let  each  child  select  one  toiler  whom  he  would  like  to  be  and 
read  about  the  work. 

PLAN  FOR  STORY  —  THE  GINGERBREAD  BOY 

Enjoy  the  pictures.  The  first  part  of  the  story  is  the  key  to 
all  the  rest ;  if  the  children  get  the  spirit  and  vocabulary  of  this, 
the  rest  of  the  story  will  move  rapidly  to  its  tragic  ending. 
This  story  can  be  dramatized,  can  be  read  in  parts,  and  should 
be  read  from  beginning  to  end  by  many  children.  In  this  latter 
do  not  hold  to  exactness  of  wording,  provided  a  child  has  the 
spirit  of  the  story  and  is  really  conveying  the  thought  to  his 
hearers. 


73 


HOW   TO   TEACH   READING 

PLAN  FOR  STORY  —  THE  CAT  THAT  WAITED 

Assign  each  part  to  a  group  of  children  to  dramatize,  and 
have  the  first  reading  carried  through  by  dramatizing.  Was  the 
cat  wise  ?  How  hungry  those  kittens  must  have  been! 

In  finishing  the  Reader  spend  several  days  in  reading  and 
dramatizing  favorite  pages.  Be  sure  that  the  children  know 
some  of  the  beautiful  poems.  Satisfy  yourself  that  the  formal 
work  has  been  well  done. 


V.  TEACHING  THE  RIVERSIDE  SECOND  READER 

(THE  children  may  well  re-read  parts  of  the  First  Reader  at  the 
beginning  of  the  second  year.  Review  word  and  phonic  lists 
also.  Study  pp.  190,  191,  Second  Reader.  Make  frequent  use 
of  pp.  181,  182.) 

Read  the  Children's  Preface  to  the  class.  Let  them  read 
p.  9,  then  ask  for  their  favorite  stories.  Look  at  the  Table  of 
Contents ;  see  if  any  one  finds  the  name  there  of  a  good  story 
which  he  knows.  If  so,  that  may  be  a  good  story  with  which  to 
begin.  Make  much  of  all  illustrations. 

At  first  the  children  may  need  to  work  through  the  lessons 
in  class,  sentence  by  sentence.  Within  a  few  weeks  expect  them 
to  prepare  a  paragraph  before  offering  to  read.  In  re-reading  a 
story,  they  may  be  trained  to  look  for  the  large  parts :  A  child 
says,  /  am  going  to  read  how  the  fox  got  the  colt  (p.  33). 

Work  for  independence  in  reading,  help  children  to  get  words 
through  context  and  through  sounding,  expect  them  to  know 
common  words.  Keep  up  phonic  and  word  drills  as  listed.  By 
the  middle  of  the  year  pupils  should  have  good  habits  of  inde- 
pendent attack  upon  new  lessons. 

Train  children  to  read  so  that  the  hearer  may  see  the  picture 
or  the  action.  The  swallow  (p.  10)  must  fly  away,  a-wa-y 
—  ever  so  far  away.  The  silver  sand  (p.  1 1)  must  stretch  away, 
a-wa-y  —  ever  so  far  away.  Hurrying  home  (p.  10)  must  be 
hurrying.  The  weathercock  (p.  20)  must  see  the  white  waves 
rolling  in,  the  ships  sailing,  the  sea-birds  flying,  the  children 
playing  in  the  sand. 

For  seat  work  the  children  may  find  picture  sentences  or 
paragraphs,  and  draw  what  they  see;  perhaps  copying  the 

75 


HOW   TO   TEACH    READING 

sentence  below  the  picture.  They  may  make  a  list  of  the  char- 
acters named  in  the  story,  writing  one  thing  that  each  did,  one 
thing  each  said.  (See  p.  17,  of  this  manual.) 

Notice  the  authors  of  selections.  Explain  "  An  Old  Tale" 
" Adapted"  " Anonymous,"  etc.  Work  with  the  word  lists 
at  the  back  of  the  book.  Be  sure  that  the  children  know  the 
phonograms  and  consonant  sounds. 

TYPE  LESSONS 
Type  I.  Poems  of  nature  (pp.  10,  20,  32,  38,  88,  137). 

All  nature  poems  assume  that  the  reader  has  had  experience* 
with  that  part  of  the  nature  world  presented  in  the  poem. 
Where  the  children  have  had  the  experience,  recall  it  as  simply 
and  beautifully  as  possible.  Perhaps  a  related  experience  will 
have  to  be  accepted  instead;  many  children  do  not  know  the 
swallow,  but  have  watched  other  birds  fly  away.  Others  may 
be  led  to  watch  for  new  experiences ;  they  will  wish  to  see  fire- 
flies after  reading  Twinkling  Bugs. 

The  poem  gives  a  new  thought,  a  different  interpretation  of 
these  nature  ideas.  The  message  of  the  swallow  (p.  10),  the 
mystery  of  the  wind  (p.  20),  the  moon  floating  in  the  sea  of 
sunset  (p.  38),  —  these  are  the  treasures  the  poet  shows  us. 
Have  the  children  memorize  many  of  these  poems. 

The  music  of  each  poem  also  needs  to  be  brought  out.  Many 
times  the  teacher  needs  to  read  the  poem  to  the  children  first. 
Notice  the  rhyming  words,  the  repetition  of  words  and  word- 
groups,  the  use  of  alliteration.  Always  read  a  poem  so  that  the 
rhythm  is  evident,  not  in  a  singsong  way,  but  fitting  the  words 
and  thought  to  the  rhythm  as  you  would  to  music. 

LESSON   PLAN  —  THE  SWALLOW    (p.  IO) 

Speak  of  the  birds'  going  away  for  the  winter  and  coming 
back  in  the  spring.  Examine  the  picture.  Note  the  swallow's 

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TEACHING  THE  RIVERSIDE  SECOND  READER 

round  head,  forked  tail,  widespread  wings.  Speak  of  the  grace 
of  his  flight.  Read  the  poem  to  the  children,  bringing  out  the 
contrast  between  the  swallow's  going  away  and  his  coming 
back.  How  far  the  swallow  travels!  Read  the  first  line  making  us 
see  how  far  away  he  flies.  Why  is  he  called  sun-loving  swallow? 
What  is  the  first  sound  in  those  two  words  ?  What  other  words  in 
these  two  lines  begin  with  that  sound  ?  Read  the  two  lines  while  we 
listen  for  those  words.  Why  are  come  again  and  bringing  re- 
peated in  the  next  two  lines?  What  is  the  swallow's  message? 
Read  the  stanza  so  that  we  see  the  swallow  flying  away  and  hear 
you  calling  it  to  return. 

Treat  the  second  stanza  in  much  the  same  way.  Let  the  chil- 
dren tell  what  pictures  they  see  in  the  poem.  Notice  the  au- 
thor's name.  The  children  read  in  the  First  Reader  her  poems, 
"  A  Diamond  or  a  Coal  "?  and  "  Ferry  Me  Across  the  Water." 
Perhaps  they  can  recite  them.  Memorize  "  The  Swallow." 

Drill  period :  c,  certain. 

1.  Cent. 

2.  Certainly,  rice,  nice,  place,  dancing,  since,  concerts, 
princess. 

Fundamental  and  complete  vocabularies. 
Common  phrases. 

Type  II.  Poems  of  child  life  (pp.  13,  16,  39,  95,  114,  170,  180). 

Recall  the  experiences  upon  which  the  poems  are  based. 
Bring  out  the  poetic  thought  concerning  each  —  the  loving  care 
for  the  baby  (p.  13),  the  smoke  sailing  like  feathers  (p.  16),  the 
fascination  of  the  lamplighter  (p.  114). 

With  these  poems  the  teacher  will  often  need  to  read  them 
first  so  that  the  musical  setting  may  appeal  with  the  beauty  of 
the  thought  before  work  upon  the  poem  begins.  Never  let 
word  difficulties  crowd  out  the  beauty.  The  children  will  wish 
to  memorize  some  of  these  poems. 

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HOW   TO   TEACH   READING 


LESSON   PLAN  —  THE  LAMPLIGHTER 

What  is  this  little  boy  doing  ?  Does  he  see  any  one  ?  What  is  the 
man  carrying  ?  Does  he  see  the  boy  ?  Who  is  the  man  ?  The  chil- 
dren may  answer  from  what  they  see  in  the  picture,  then  the 
teacher  may  call  their  attention  to  the  lines  which  verify  their 
answers:  time  to  see  Leerie  going  by,  with  lantern  and  with 
ladder,  see  a  little  child  and  nod  to  him. 

What  has  this  little  boy  to  make  him  happy?  The  picture 
tells  much.  Tom  —  Maria  —  my  papa  's  a  banker,  quite  a  fam- 
ily group ;  a  lamp  before  the  door.  Some  may  wish  to  call  atten- 
tion to  the  mother  not  being  mentioned,  to  the  child's  not  being 
strong.  Stevenson  knew  what  it  meant  to  be  a  frail  city  child. 

Why  does  the  child  like  to  watch  Leerie  ?  How  often  does  he  see 
him?  every  night  at  tea-time.  What  makes  the  child  want  to 
be  a  lamplighter  ?  Does  Leerie  watch  for  the  child  ? 

When  this  silent  reading  and  study  work  have  been  done,  the 
poem  may  be  read  orally.  Later  it  may  be  dramatized.  The 
children  have  read  or  memorized  from  Stevenson,  "  The  Red 
Fire"  (Riverside  Primer,  p.  107),  "The  Swing"  (Riverside 
First  Reader,  p.  46). 

Drill  period :  oon,  moon. 

i.  Soon,  spoon,  sooner,  coon,  noon. 

Fundamental  and  complete  vocabularies. 
Common  phrases. 

Type  III.  Poems  of  fun  (pp.  9,  17,  68,  125,  144,  161,  167). 

The  children  must  see  the  fun,  that  is  the  main  thing.  Have 
them  read  silently,  question  them,  and  when  they  see  the  point, 
call  upon  them  to  read.  Why  does  the  book  open  at  the  right  page  ? 
(p.  9).  Is  the  mother  foolish  ?  (p.  17).  Why  would  the  little  girl 
teach  the  fairy  these  things?  (p.  144). 

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TEACHING  THE  RIVERSIDE  SECOND  READER 

LESSON   PLAN  —  THE   CANDY  LION    (p.   12$) 

How  does  the  boy  like  the  candy  lion  ?  What  will  he  probably 
do  with  it  ?  What  is  the  boy  thinking  of  in  the  first  stanza  ?  Who 
can  bite,  and  wander  roaring  for  food,  and  eat  up  folks  at  night? 
How  does  this  lion  get  more  shapeless  and  slim  ?  What  did  you 
read  earlier  in  this  stanza  that  slwwed  something  might  happen  to 
the  lion?  Why  does  the  tail  disappear  first?  the  head  next? 
What  is  a  candy  Roar?  What  happens  finally?  How  do  you 
know? 

Other  poems  by  Miss  Brown  which  the  children  have  read 
are  "  I  Know  "  (Riverside  First  Reader,  p.  93),  "The  Wise 
Book  "  and  "  Dressmaking  "  (in  this  Reader). 

Drill  periods :  — 

With  p.  9,  it,  it. 

1.  Sit,  hit,  fit,  lit,  bit,  pit,  sitting,  bitten,  little,  bitter,  wits. 

2.  Itself,  stitch. 

With  p.  17,  m,  in;  up,  up;  fr,  frock. 

1.  Sin,  tin,  win,  din,  pin,  dinner,  winning,  pinned,  sup,  cupf 
pup,  supper,  upper,  free,  fry,  fro,  fret,  Fred. 

2.  Upon,  suppose,  puppy,  afraid,  friend,  frost,  frog. 

Fundamental  and  complete  vocabularies. 
Common  phrases. 

Type  IV.  The  Short  Story  (pp.  n,  18,  31,  85,  168). 

The  charm  of  the  short  story  is  its  simplicity,  its  rapid  move- 
ment, the  ease  with  which  the  point  is  reached.  The  danger  is 
that  the  teacher  will  consider  the  point  as  so  obvious  that  she 
will  not  test  the  children  to  see  if  they  understand.  What  did 
frighten  the  wee  woman  ?  (p.  18).  //  the  tortoise  had  been  wise, 
what  would  he  have  done  ?  (p.  85).  Who  took  the  fish  to  the  king  ? 
(p.  168). 

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HOW   TO   TEACH    READING 

LESSON  PLAN  —  THE  DOG   IN  THE   MANGER   (p. 

Where  is  this  ox  ?  What  has  he  come  to  the  barn  for?  Why  is  the 
dog  in  the  manger  ?  What  is  the  manger  for  ?  Who  of  you  have 
seen  an  animal  eating  from  a  manger  ?  Tell  us  about  it.  What 
food  is  in  this  manger  ?  Find  what  happened.  The  children  may 
read  the  entire  fable  silently,  then  it  may  be  treated  as  a 
dialogue.  If  the  dog  had  liked  hay,  would  the  story  have  been 
different  ? 

Drill  lessons :  — 

With  p.  n,  and,  and;  br,  bright. 

1.  Sand,  hand,  land,  band,  stand,  landing,  handle,  sanded, 
handed,  bray,  bring,  brow,  brook,  brine,  brown,  bride, 
brain. 

2.  Grandfather,  brother,  breakfast,  broken,  bravest,  breath. 

With  p.  1 8,  cr,  crept. 

1.  Cry,  crook,  crown,  creep,  crock,  crooked,  creeping. 

2.  Crab,  cried,  cross,  crack,  cream,  crawled. 

With  p.  19,  ent,  went. 

1.  Sent,  cent,  bent,  tent,  dent,  rent,  tenting,  center. 

2.  Gently,  twenty,  movement,  plenty. 

With  p.  31,  ack,  black;  x,  ox. 

1.  Sack,  hack,  creek,  lack,  back,  black,  tack,  track,  pack, 
rack,  cracker,  packet,  oxen. 

2.  Jacket,  exchange,  next,  fix. 

Fundamental  and  complete  vocabularies. 
Common  phrases. 

Type  V.   Informational  Lessons  (pp.  14,  107). 

These  lessons  call  attention  to  the  wonder  of  the  stars,  and 
the  power  in  the  simple  steam  of  the  tea-kettle;  also  to  the 
thoughtfulness  of  a  small  boy.  The  teacher  needs  to  direct  the 

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TEACHING  THE  RIVERSIDE  SECOND  READER 

children's  observations.  Distinguish  between  fact  and  fancy. 
Find  out  the  position  of  the  Great  Dipper,  of  the  Little  Dipper. 
Perhaps  you  will  find  the  parents  ready  to  show  these  to  the 
children.  A  bubbling  tea-kettle  can  easily  be  brought  to  the 
schoolroom,  but  the  lid  must  be  one  which  lifts  easily.  Where 
have  the  children  seen  steam  at  work? 

Use  these  lessons  largely  as  study  lessons,  directing  the 
children  to  the  essential  sentences,  but  not  attempting  to  have 
all  of  the  selection  read  orally. 

Drill  lesson;  p.  14,  ink,  drink;  dr,  drink. 

1.  Sink,  link,  brink,  wink,  pink,  sinking,  dry,  drown,  drain, 
drowned,  drainer. 

2.  Tinkle,  think,  dress,  driver. 

Fundamental  and  complete  vocabularies. 

Type  VI.   The  Dramatization  (pp.  26,  65,  145). 

A  study  lesson  may  well  be  spent  with  the  class  to  prepare 
them  for  the  dramatization.  The  sooner  the  action  can  begin, 
however,  the  better.  All  stage-directions  are  given  in  very 
concise  form ;  it  is  a  good  test  of  the  children's  power  to  have 
them  follow  these  directions  without  comment  by  the  teacher. 
See  that  they  get  the  spirit  of  the  drama,  the  danger  to  the 
sheep  (p.  26),  the  kindness  of  John  (p.  65),  the  adventures  of 
the  company  (p.  145). 

LESSON   PLAN  —  THE  LITTLE   SHEPHERD    (p.  26) 

Here  is  a  play  for  us  to  give.  What  is  its  name  ?  You  may 
choose  a  part  and  show  us  that  you  know  what  to  do.  The  first 
child  who  takes  his  place  should  say,  /  am  the  father  (or  the 
mother)  and  this  is  the  sheep/old.  Each  should  account  for  him-» 
self.  When  the  four  leading  parts  have  been  chosen  and  several 
children  have  announced  that  they  are  sheep  and  have  taken 

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HOW   TO   TEACH    READING 

their  places,  you  are  ready  to  study  the  speeches.  What  is 
troubling  the  mother  ?  What  does  John  wish  to  do  ?  Does  he  go  ? 
Who  gives  him  the  best  advice  ?  The  children  may  not  find  the 
right  answer,  but  wait  until  the  next  scene  to  set  them  right. 
The  Grandfather's  speech  is  a  sentence  which  looks  forward. 
Show  us  how  the  scene  closes.  John  may  or  may  not  read  his 
final  speech  at  this  time,  the  sheep  may  or  may  not  give  theirs, 
but  John  and  the  sheep  must  go  to  the  pasture.  As  at  the  open- 
ing of  the  scene,  the  burden  of  interpreting  the  stage-directions 
must  fall  upon  the  children ;  do  not  tell  them  what  to  do,  insist 
that  they  find  out  from  the  text. 

In  the  second  scene  John's  change  of  mind  needs  to  be  shown 
by  his  acting.  Would  the  mother  be  pleased  to  have  John  see  the 
King?  No-o  and  Help!  Help!  Help!  may  need  practice,  also 
Where?  Where?  Whose  advice  helped  John?  This  is  an  illus- 
tration of  a  sentence  which  refers  back  to  something  that  has 
been  said.  Make  this  connection  by  having  the  class  turn  back 
and  read  the  Grandfather's  speech.  The  same  point  is  made  in 
John's  final  speech  (scene  3).  Was  the  mother  glad  to  have  John 
see  the  King  ?  Would  she  have  been  glad  if  he  had  gone  with  the 
shepherds?  Bring  out  the  difference  between  John's  impulsive 
offer  at  the  opening  of  Scene  I  and  his  bravery  under  trial. 
Every  knight  pledged  himself  to  protect  the  weak.  Suppose  the 
king  and  knights  had  not  come  to  help  John.  What  might  have 
been  different  ?  If  you  can  do  so  without  moralizing,  help  the 
children  to  see  that  even  if  the  wolf  had  taken  some  of  the  sheep, 
John  would  not  have  been  to  blame.  He  showed  his  spirit  when 
he  resisted  the  temptation  to  go  with  the  shepherds.  Not  all  of 
this  will  be  accomplished  in  the  first  lesson,  but  the  teacher 
needs  to  keep  all  in  mind. 

The  more  detailed  dramatization  may  be  given  the  second 
day. 

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TEACHING  THE  RIVERSIDE  SECOND  READER 

Drill  lessons :  — 

With  p.  30,  ade,  made. 

i.  Fade,  blade,  shade,  glade,  cradle,  spade. 

With  p.  66,  y,  yes. 

i .  Your,  yourself,  yesterday,  younger. 

With  p.  67,  ad,  glad;  gl,  glad. 

i .  Sad,  mad,  had,  fad,  lad,  bad,  pad,  shad,  gad,  brad,  ladder, 

glee,  glide,  glitter,  glare,  glimmer. 

Fundamental  and  complete  vocabulary. 

Common  phrases. 

Type  VII.   The  Long  Story  (pp.  20,  33,  40,  47,  56,  69,  79,  89, 

97,  102,  116,  120,  126,  132,  139,  153,  162,  172,  176). 

The  wise  division  of  this  type  of  story  into  its  main  parts, 
with  careful  study  of  the  essentials  in  each  part,  will  help  the 
children  to  get  the  large  values  from  each  story,  as  well  as  help 
them  toward  establishing  good  study  habits. 

Discussion  should  center  upon  the  characters,  how  they  look, 
what  they  do,  what  they  say,  what  characteristics  they  show ; 
the  main  events,  who  take  part  in  them,  why,  what  results 
occur;  the  time  of  each  event,  the  place.  Find  the  sentences 
which  are  most  important,  key  sentences  upon  whose  interpre- 
tation the  understanding  of  the  story  depends.  In  this  way  the 
ideas  of  the  story  become  clear,  the  vocabulary  is  used  naturally, 
new  words  appear  in  their  context,  the  foundation  is  laid  for 
intelligent  and  therefore  expressive  oral  reading. 

In  this  discussion  have  the  pupil  read  from  the  text  the  word, 
word  group,  or  sentence  from  which  he  gained  his  point. 
Accept  no  desultory  statements,  be  sure  that  the  pupil  is  fol- 
lowing the  thought,  that  he  is  reading  to  a  definite  end. 

Dramatization  is  a  natural  outgrowth  of  most  of  these 
stories,  but  it  comes  at  the  close  of  the  study  rather  than,  as  in 
the  preceding  type  (VI),  at  the  beginning. 

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HOW  TO   TEACH   READING 

LESSON   PLAN  —  TH£  LITTLE   STEAM   ENGINE    (p.  IO2) 

The  first  part  gives  the  steam  engine's  problem.  Will  she  get 
the  long  train  of  cars  up  the  hill?  The  most  expressive  para- 
graph tells  of  her  exertions ;  be  sure  that  the  Choo  !  Choo!  Choo  ! 
Choo!  sounds  like  a  hard-working  engine.  The  climax  of  this 
part  lies  in  the  next  sentence  —  the  cars  would  not  go  up  the 
hill  What  can  be  done? 

Part  two  gives  her  appeal  to  the  first  big  steam  engine  and 
his  refusal  to  help.  How  steady  her  Choo!  Choo!  Choo!  Choo! 
sounds  both  before  and  after  the  interview.  Does  he  think  that 
he  can  discourage  her?  Have  the  conversation  given  as  a 
dialogue. 

A  third  part  shows  her  meeting  another  large  engine.  How 
does  an  engine  puff  and  puff?  Another  conversation  ending 
with  a  refusal  but  the  little  steam  engine  still  goes  on,  Choo! 
Choo!  Choo!  Choo! 

Another  little  steam  engine  is  found  in  part  four,  agrees  to 
help,  together  they  go  back,  together  they  pull  the  cars  up  the 
hill,  the  work  becomes  easy,  the  helper  says  good-bye,  and  the 
little  steam  engine  sings  a  song  of  triumph  as  she  goes  on  carry- 
ing the  cars  across  the  plain.  There  is  fine  opportunity  in  this 
fourth  part  for  the  imitation  of  the  sounds  made  by  engines. 
Except  for  the  words  used,  the  Choo!  Choo!  Choo!  Choo!  and 
7 —  think  —  / —  can  sound  very  much  alike.  One  may  imag- 
ine an  engine  saying  either.  At  what  point  does  the  story  seem 
to  show  that  the  top  of  the  hill  has  been  reached?  Note  the 
change  in  rate  of  the  final  song  as  the  little  steam  engine  gets 
well  under  way. 

Drill  periods :  — 

With  p.  23,  urn,  turn. 

i.  Burn,  burning,  burned,  burner. 

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TEACHING  THE  RIVERSIDE  SECOND  READER 

With  p.  25,  ew,  blew;  bl,  blew. 

1.  Mew,  few,  dew,  new,  pew,  drew,  crew,  bled,  blest,  blink, 
block,  bless. 

2.  Knew,   threw,   trembling,   stable,    bluebells,    blessing, 
tumbled,  trouble,  gobble. 

With  p.  35,  ass,  grass;  v,  voice. 

1 .  Mass,  lass,  class,  brass,  pass,  vat,  vow,  vain,  vest. 

2.  Loving,  lived,  gave,  voice,  every,  heavy,  believe,  brave, 
traveled. 

With  p.  40,  ood,  good. 

1.  Hood,  wood,  stood,  wooden,  hooded. 

2.  Woodpecker,  good-bye. 

With  p.  41,  atch,  catch. 

i.  Match,  hatch,  scratch,  latch,  patch,  hatchet,  catcher, 
scratched,  patching. 

With  p.  43,  are,  care. 

i.  Mare,  hare,  fare,  bare,  dare,  pare,  rare,  share,  glare. 

With  p.  47,  gr,  green. 

1.  Greener,  gray,  ground,  grain,  grit,  grand,  grin,  grew, 
grade,  grass,  grandest. 

2.  Grandfather,  hungry. 

With  p.  51,  ig,  big. 

i.  Fig,  dig,  wig,  pig,  rig,  gig,  brig,  digging,  bigger,  giggle. 

With  p.  53,  ick,  quick;  qui,  quick. 

1.  Sick,  kick,  tick,  lick,  Dick,  wick,  nick,  pick,  rick,  brick, 
stick,  queer,  quill,  quinine,  quell,  quest,  quit,  quack, 
queen. 

2.  Quite,   quiet,   queer,    cricket,  pickle,   picket,   sicken, 
wicked,  tickle. 

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HOW  TO  TEACH   READING 

With  p.  54,  ut,  shut. 

i.  Hut,  cut,  but,  nut,  rut,  shut,  buttei,  cutting,  shuttle, 
mutter,  walnut,  chestnut. 

With  p.  56,  ar,far;  st,  stood. 

1.  War,  car,  bar,  tar,  star,  market,  carpet,  barber,  start,  far- 
ther, stay,  sting,  stake,  stall,  still,  steep,  stain,  stand, 
stock,  stew,  stack,  stood,  stare. 

2.  Stretched,  stairs,  east,  west,  beasts. 

With  p.  58,  tr,  tree. 

1.  Tray,  try,  train,  trade,  trick,  trader,  tickled,  trail. 

2.  Tried,  trembling,  trunk,  trouble,  trousers. 

With  p.  59,  am,  am;  ame,  came. 

1.  Ham,  lamb,  ram,  sham,  cram,  clam,  stamp,  tramp,  ham- 
mer, lamp,  same,  fame,  came,  lame,  tame,  name,  shame, 
ashamed,  game,  flame,  frame,  blame,  became. 

2.  Family,  famous. 

With  p.  62,  im,  him;  ime,  time. 

1.  Tim,  limb,  dim,  rim,  brim,  trim,  limping,  slim,  lime,  dime, 
rime,  crime,  grime. 

2.  Gimlet,  chimney,  important. 

With  p.  64,  fl,  flew. 

1.  Flee,  fling,  flake,  fly,  flat,  flower,  fled,  flown,  flit,  flock, 
flew,  flare,  flicker,  flame. 

2.  Floating. 

With  p.  69,  ead,  bread. 

i.  Head,  lead,  dead,  dread,  instead,  tread,  ahead,  spread. 

With  p.  72,  ite,  white, 
i.  Kite,  bite,  quite. 

With  p.  73,  out,  out. 

i.  Pout,  shout,  rout,  stout,  trout. 

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TEACHING  THE  RIVERSIDE  SECOND  READER 

With  p.  74,  alk,  walk. 
i.  Stalk,  balk,  talk. 

With  p.  76,  ish,  wish  ;  ong,  song. 

1 .  Fish,  dish,  long,  tongs,  ding,  dong,  wrong,  prong,  gong, 
strong,  belong. 

2.  Foolish. 

With  p.  78,  ast,  fast. 

i.  Mast,  cast,  last,  past,  blast,  vast,  aster,  master. 

With  p.  79,  each,  each. 

i.  Beach,  teach, preach,  reach,  bleach. 

With  p.  So,  j,  just. 

1.  Jill,  jelly,  jet,  jest,  Jew,  Jack,  jig,  jutting,  jar,  jam,  Jim, 
James. 

2.  Journey,  juicy,  Japan,  Japanese. 

With  p.  81,  ask,  ask. 

i.  Mask,  task,  cask,  flask. 

With  p.  82,  aw,  paw. 

i.  Law,  saw,  raw,  Shaw,  caw,  straw,  flaw,  jaw,  crawl. 

With  p.  84,  sw,  sweet. 

1.  Sway,  swing,  swine,  sweep,  swill,  swish,  swept. 

2.  Swallow,  sweetly,  swung,  swam. 

Fundamental  and  complete  vocabularies. 
Common  phrases. 


VI.  TEACHING  THE  RIVERSIDE  THIRD  READER 

THE  teacher  will  want  to  enjoy  some  of  the  pictures  with  her 
class;  perhaps  she  will  read  to  them  the  Children's  Preface  and 
the  opening  poem.  Each  story  and  each  poem  has  its  own  main 
thought  and  atmosphere.  Do  not  be  afraid  of  the  nonsense 
poems  and  stories.  Train  the  children  to  find  the  large  parts  of 
a  story;  to  tell  where  each  part  begins  and  ends,  to  name  it. 
Study  and  talk  over  a  paragraph  or  a  part  with  the  class  before 
calling  for  oral  reading.  Use  the  words  and  word  groups  in  this 
way.  Look  for  sentences  which  are  key  sentences,  which  sug- 
gest important  parts  of  the  story,  whose  interpretation  is 
necessary  to  understand  the  story :  But  lo!  the  shoes  were  made 
(p.  13) ;  He  will  think  that  I  am  you  (p.  24) ;  Why,  give  them  to 
the  three  prettiest  children  in  the  school  (p.  31). 

Use  certain  lessons  (pp.  33,  44, 176,  230,  etc.)  largely  as  silent 
reading  lessons  to  interest  the  children  in  outside  matters,  in 
observing  and  doing  things.  This  geographical  and  vocational 
work  leads  to  a  gradual  broadening  of  the  child's  horizon.  The 
lessons  which  convey  ethical  truths  (pp.  55,  90,  93)  will  perhaps 
leave  the  strongest  impression  if  the  truth  is  emphasized  in 
connection  with  the  story  itself  and  its  hero  rather  than  if 
application  is  made  to  the  children  themselves. 

Select  with  care  the  lessons  in  which  you  will  work  especially 
for  artistic  oral  reading.  Choose  those  which  have  little  descrip- 
tion, much  dialogue,  opportunity  for  expressing  varying  emo- 
tions. 

Review  all  needed  words  and  phonic  elements  listed  in  the 
earlier  readers.  Drill  steadily  on  those  listed  in  this  reader. 
Make  use  of  the  Suggestions  to  Teachers  (pp.  253-256). 

88 


TEACHING  THE  RIVERSIDE  THIRD  READER 

Word  lists  are  not  given  for  this  grade  in  the  manual  as  the 
children  can  now  make  their  own  lists  as  seat  work.  Assign  a 
given  phonogram,  perhaps  one  to  each  row.  Pupils  may  write 
(i)  words  which  they  know  containing  the  phonogram,  (2) 
words  which  they  find  in  the  Vocabulary  (p.  247)  containing 
the  phonogram.  Use  these  lists  in  the  drill  period,  which  should 
have  a  separate  time  on  the  program.  By  the  end  of  the  third 
year  pupils  should  be  fluent  readers  of  easy  reading;  they 
should  know  how  to  find  and  name  the  leading  parts  of  a  story, 
how  to  select  a  good  title  for  a  story.  They  should  comment 
appreciatively  upon  a  poem  or  story. 

TYPE   LESSONS 

Type  I.  Poems  of  nature  (pp.  37,  46,  53,  59,  81,  123,  124,  135, 
142,  156,  162,  163,  170,  171,  186,  197,  204,  229). 
(For  discussion  of  this  type,  see  p.  76  of  this  manual). 

LESSON  PLAN  —  THE  CLOUDS  (p.  5p) 
Recall  clouds  which  the  children  have  watched.  If  there  are 
clouds  in  the  sky,  go  to  the  windows  and  watch  them.  Which 
way  are  they  moving?  How  fast  do  they  go?  If  this  poem  can 
be  read  on  a  day  when  the  wind  is  singing  and  the  clouds 
moving,  it  will  be  a  great  help. 

Read  the  poem  to  the  children.  Bring  out  with  your  voice 
the  swift  movement  of  the  clouds  in  stanza  2,  the  quiet  of  the 
evening  in  stanza  3.  Call  for  children  to  read  important  lines 
or  word  groups  so  as  to  show  manner  of  movement,  idly,  to  and 
fro,  hurry  on;  rate  of  movement,  faster  now,  hastening  to  be 
the  first ;  the  sounds  portrayed,  with  merry  voice,  darkness 
falls,  good-night  and  happy  sleep! 

Type  II.  Poems  of  child  life  (pp.  II,  37,  48,  61,  66,  74,  92,  104, 
126,  187,  193,  218,  245). 

(For  discussion  of  this  type,  see  p.  77  of  this  manual). 

89 


HOW   TO   TEACH   READING 

LESSON   PLAN  —  A   SONG   OF   OUR  FLAG    (p.  104) 

Just  how  children's  patriotism  may  be  trained  we  do  not 
know.  In  part  at  least  it  comes  from  the  reverence  paid  the 
flag  by  adults,  some  thought  of  what  the  flag  stands  for,  and 
the  emotional  response  aroused  by  the  beating  drums,  the  reed- 
like  fifes,  the  beautiful,  rippling  flags.  All  these  are  included  in 
the  lines  of  this  poem,  while  the  rhythm  is  in  part  martial, 
changing  to  reverent. 

Read  the  poem  in  your  best  manner  ;  then  study  it  with  the 
class  ;  finally  have  them  memorize  it. 

What  lines  tell  how  the  flag  looks  ?  Which  tell  of  people  who 
love  the  flag?  Find  the  lines  which  tell  what  the  flag  means.  Find 
those  which  make  you  think  of  a  great  celebration.  What  do  people 
do  to  show  their  love  for  the  flag  ?  How  does  Old  Glory  like  the 
cheering  ? 

Type  III.  Poems  of  fun  (pp.  19,  26,  205). 

(See  this  same  type  discussed  on  p.  78  of  this  manual). 

LESSON   PLAN  —  THE  ELF  AND  THE  DORMOUSE  (p.  IQ) 

Enjoy  the  pictures.  Which  stanzas  describe  the  first  picture  ? 
the  second  picture?  What  pictures  would  you  draw  to  illustrate  the 
last  two  stanzas  ?  Don't  let  any  unusual  words  interfere  with 
the  enjoyment  of  the  poem,  but  read  and  re-read  it  as  long  as 
the  spirit  of  fun  prevails. 

Type  IV.    The  Short  Story  (pp.  89,  90,  93,  195). 

(For  discussion  of  this  type,  see  p.  79  of  this  manual). 


LESSON   PLAN  —  A  LESSON  IN  POLITENESS  (p. 

Children  learn  courtesy  partly  through  contact  with  cour- 
teous people,  partly  by  being  held  to  courteous  acts  until  they 
become  habits,  and  in  no  small  measure  through  ideals. 

90 


TEACHING  THE  RIVERSIDE  THIRD   READER 

What  lessons  have  we  had  in  politeness?  Recall  the  most 
recent  experience,  no  matter  how  simple.  Who  do  you  think  had 
this  lesson  ?  Who  gave  it  to  them  ?  Read  the  first  paragraph  to  find 
where  this  lesson  was  given.  What  politeness  is  shown  in  this 
paragraph?  Recall  instances  where  guests  have  been  given 
seats  of  honor.  Read  until  you  find  some  one  who  needs  a 
lesson  in  politeness.  Why  should  the  Athenian  boys  have 
offered  the  old  man  a  seat  ?  Why  did  n't  they  offer  him  one  ? 
Who  might  give  them  a  lesson  ?  the  old  man,  their  fathers  or 
teachers.  Read  until  you  find  who  did  give  it.  Did  the  Athe- 
nian boys  learn  their  lesson  ?  Read  the  sentence  which  tells  you. 
What  was  the  difference  shown  between  the  Athenian  and  Spartan 
boys  ?  How  did  the  old  man  express  it  ?  Would  this  be  true,  "  The 
Spartan  boys  know  what  is  right  and  do  it"?  Learn  the  old  man's 
speech.  What  other  country  have  you  heard  of  where  the  children 
are  very  polite  to  old  people  ?  Could  they  teach  us  anything  ?  Let 
children  recall  instances  they  have  seen  of  children  being' 
courteous  to  the  aged.  Trust  to  the  lesson  influencing  their  own 
actions.  Notice  and  commend  such  acts  as  you  see  the  children 
performing  them.  Plan  some  courtesy  which  the  children 
may  extend  to  an  aged  person,  sending  a  flower,  visiting  him 
to  sing  a  sweet  song  or  to  dramatize  a  story,  writing  a  note 
telling  of  their  own  happy  times. 

Type  V.   The  Information  Lesson  (pp.  33,  44,  176,  230). 
(For  discussion  of  this  type,  see  p.  80  of  this  manual). 

LESSON   PLAN  —  THE  WONDERFUL   BALL    (p.  44) 

This  lesson  is  based  in  part  upon  the  children's  experiences, 
which  should  be  recalled  to  aid  in  the  interpretation,  but  it 
presents  to  them  a  thought  so  great  that  wonder  is  the  only 
word  to  express  it.  Do  not  attempt  any  oral  reading  except 
of  a  part  needed  to  help  the  discussion.  Dwell  upon  all  the 


HOW   TO   TEACH   READING 

scenes  mentioned  in  such  a  way  as  to  intensify  this  thought  of 
immensity.  There  is  room  upon  The  Wonderful  Ball  for  all 
these  great  and  beautiful  things ! 

Type  VI.   The  Dramatization  (pp.  21,  62,  95). 

(For  discussion  of  this  type,  see  p.  8 1  of  this  manual). 
No  lesson  plan  is  given  here,  as  the  discussion  brings  out  the 
essential  steps  in  a  dramatization. 

Type  VII.  The  Long  Story  (pp.  13,  28,  38,  50,  55,  68,  76,  83, 
99,  105,  113,  127,  136,  144,  157,  164,  189,  199,  208,  220,  234). 

(For  discussion  of  this  type,  see  p.  83  of  this  manual). 


VII.  TEACHING  THE  UPPER  GRADE  READERS 

READING  in  the  upper  grades  is  concerned  with  the  problems 
of  motivation ;  of  rate ;  of  the  inculcation  of  good  study  habits ; 
of  reaching  out  and  helping  the  pupil  with  his  outside  reading, 
whether  the  latter  is  of  the  informational,  the  vocational,  or 
the  literary  type.  Attention  to  all  these  problems  has  been 
given  in  preparing  the  Riverside  Readers. 

The  selections  have  been  chosen  to  appeal  to  the  motive  of 
enjoyment.  Care  has  been  taken  to  have  each  poem  or  story 
presented  when  it  will  best  arouse  the  pupils'  inherent  interest. 
The  motive  of  sharing  is  recognized  in  the  provision  for  bring- 
ing to  class  other  selections  upon  the  same  subject  (Suggested 
Readings).  The  motives  of  preservation  and  collecting  appear 
in  the  scrapbooks  described  in  the  preface  to  the  Sixth  Reader. 
The  motive  of  mastery  as  well  as  the  motive  of  enjoyment 
appear  in  the  study  of  authors  and  their  works  in  a  definite  way. 
Examination  of  the  readers  will  discover  other  motives. 

Rate  of  reading  has  been  considered  in  the  grading  of  the 
selections,  in  the  recognition  of  the  values  in  the  silent  reading 
lesson  (see  p.  21.),  and  in  the  mechanical  make-up  of  the  page. 
In  general  the  selections  are  graded  more  closely  than  in 
other  readers;  the  adaptation  of  the  thought  to  the  pupil  has 
been  the  basis  of  gradation  and  this  has  resulted  in  presenting 
material  in  which  he  will  find  comparatively  few  mechanical 
difficulties  which  he  cannot  master  unaided. 

The  readers  have  many  aids  in  helping  pupils  to  study. 
Emphasis  is  laid  upon  the  spirit,  the  message  of  each  selection. 
This  main  idea  is  used  as  the  basis  for  grouping  the  Suggested 
Readings  related  to  a  selection.  Each  Table  of  Contents  is 

93 


TEACH:C>?G  THE  UPPER  GRADE  READERS 

planned  .<AS-*I  guide  to  the  pupils  in  their  study,  references  to 
Suggested  Readings  and  Study  Helps  accompanying  each  title. 
The  preface  in  each  reader  is  adapted  to  the  children,  giving 
them  a  wider  vision  of  their  task.  Even  the  cover  design,  from 
the  device  used  in  the  books  of  the  publishers,  is  adapted  to 
aid  in  a  symbolic  way  an  appreciation  of  the  dignity  of  reading. 
The  shepherd  boy  with  his  pipes  sits  beside  the  stream  with  the 
lamp  of  knowledge  at  his  feet.  The  difficult  words  are  listed  in 
A  Little  Dictionary,  rather  than  placed  with  the  lessons, 
largely  because  the  editors  believe  that  children  differ  in  their 
readiness  in  recognizing  words  and  that  it  is  well  not  to  call 
attention  to  difficulties  which  may  not  prove  difficulties.  The 
child  who  has  trouble  may  resort  to  the  Little  Dictionary ;  the 
one  who  has  no  trouble  finds  no  difficulties  suggested.  The 
words  lend  themselves  better  to  word  drills  by  being  arranged 
in  this  manner ;  and  since  these  lists  are  modeled  on  Webster's 
Dictionary,  their  use  will  give  excellent  preparation  for  the  use 
of  the  dictionary.  Ten  minutes  a  week  given  to  the  Little 
Dictionary  in  intelligent  drill,  should  obviate  most  stumbling 
over  words.  The  Suggested  Readings  help  in  classifying  the 
selections,  in  suggesting  the  main  idea  of  each,  as  well  as  in 
directing  outside  reading.  Not  every  school  has  access  to  a 
large  library,  but  the  Bible,  /Esop's  Fables,  Grimm's  and 
Andersen's  Fairy  Tales,  "  Little  Men,"  and  a  number  of  the 
other  books  mentioned,  are  to  be  found  in  most  neighborhoods. 
Have  children  report  on  what  they  do  read  outside  of  school, 
and  encourage  the  reading  of  good  books  and  magazines. 
Many  selections  give  a  poetical  side  of  life  which  has  a  counter- 
part in  prose.  Marjorie's  Almanac  may  well  be  compared  with 
the  farmer's  work  almanac,  etc. 


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